Clipped Wings
by Stormcat313
Summary: I cannot continue this story, I'm giving it away.
1. Crash landing

**No, I don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride or anything. This is my first story so be sure to rate and review! I allowed anonymous reviews so you can review it even without an account! I hope you like it and critisizm is _very_ welcome. I know these first two chapters skip around a lot but after that it's pretty smooth. **

(Max POV)

The air caressed every part of me as I flew as fast as I could, trying to escape the eraser pursuing me from the ground below. I could barely maneuver, it was raining like crazy and my tawny feathers were plastered to the skin beneath them.

A bullet whizzed past my hand, I could feel the change in the air stream. A few more came after that, each one millimeters closer to hitting their mark—Me.

I looked down to the forest below—why did everything have to be so _green_–and saw the wolfish creature coming after me. My flight faltered as I felt a stabbing, searing pain in my right wing.

-X-X-X-X-

Alice walked up to the wall of windows, peering out into the distance.

"Do you hear that?" She looked over to the couch where Edward and Jasper were watching a football game while Esme had some blueprints in her lap.

"Hear what?" Jasper looked over at Alice. Sensing her worry, he walked fluidly over to her and put his arm around her waist.

"Listen closely," Alice cocked her head to the side and the rest followed suit.

"Gunfire," Edward chimed in, hearing ammo being shot off not to far from the house.

"It's not hunting season, is it?" Alice questioned. "Besides, who would want to go hunting in this weather anyway?" She smirked at her remark.

"No matter, it's not our problem," Edward turned his attention back to the flat screen.

Jasper turned toward Edward. "Fifty bucks on the Steelers," He sat back down.

"You're on" he smiled, and they shook hands.

-X-X-X-X-

I tucked in my hurt wing and started to spiral downwards. I slowed my decent as much as I could with my good wing, but it was no use. I saw a dense section of forest and headed for it, flipping myself feet first as I neared the ground.

I landed on my heels—nice going Max. I ended up tripping and twisted my ankle. I couldn't see how it could get any worse.

But it did.

I tripped into the open; I saw a house in the far off distance. I started to look around when I heard a voice.

"There you are." I could hear the smile in his words. I started to get up and face the creature, but the sound of a gun cocking stopped me. I lay there; facedown in the mud, waiting for what was next.

"Look what we have here," he practically growled the sentence. He walked over to me; the ground darkened the slightest bit from his shadow. "Turn over; I want you to see this."

He let out a menacing chuckle.


	2. Blood and Rain

**BlahBlahBlah, I don't own anything, BlahBlahBlah.  
You might've noticed I posted this on the same day the story was made. I'll try to update at least once a week with either two chapters or one really long one. SO, no worrying about when I'll update.  
Have fun reading!**

"Oh my god, we have to do something!" Alice was panicking.

"Whatever is happening, it's not our problem," Edward said, focusing his attention on the game.

"Edward, she's about to be killed!" At this, everyone's head snapped up. Edward rushed over to the window. A girl was lying on her stomach. Blood flowed from her back, down her arms. The rain washed some of it off, she was lying in a pool of Blood, rainwater and mud.

"What the heck is going on?" Edward muttered to himself as something—A werewolf? It definitely wasn't human—walked up to her, a gun pointed at her back.

"What are we going to do?" Esme had joined Edward and Alice at the window; her hands were clasped over her mouth.

"It's none of our business," Edward replied, though his eyes were filled with worry.

-X-X-X-X-

_Oh crap_, I repeated over and over in my head. I turned over slowly, wincing as my wing throbbed. The lug loomed over me, his gun still in his hand. Hasn't he run out of ammo yet?

"Any last words?" How corny. I stared up and down at him, he looked soaked through.

"Yeah, you smell like a wet dog." He gave a growl and I took the opportunity to kick the gun out of his hands. I leaped to my feet and punched him in the stomach, knocking the air from his lungs.

The creature lunged, but I danced away just in time, he went right past me. I turned toward him and brought my conjoined fists down between his shoulder blades, the erasers' soft spot. He crumpled on the ground in front of me.

"That was for shooting me you freak," I spat at him. I gave him one last good kick in the ribs then stood there, panting.

-X-X-X-X-

The Cullens watched the fight unfold in front of them. Esme still had her hands clutched over her mouth, Alice's jaw had practically hit the floor.

Edward had started running—at human pace—toward the girl (Alice always gets her way) but had just gotten there when the fight had finished.

Alice joined him, ignoring the fact that she was running at _her_ pace.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" She asked the bleeding girl as she flitted over to her side.

-X-X-X-X-

A pale girl with spiky black hair come to my side, she put her hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it away.

"I'm perfectly fine," I snapped at her. I was on full alert, wings tucked tight against me, under my windbreaker, muscles tensed. "I have to go," I muttered. Standing up, I looked at the guy with her. He too was extremely pale; he had bronze hair and gold eyes. I started to walk past him, but the combination of my twisted ankle and exhaustion made me knees buckle. Pale guy caught me.

"You should come lay down at our house," pale guy said, though slightly grudgingly.

I looked into those eyes, looking for a reason not to trust him. "Fine," I finally agreed. Hey, I was tired and it might help me plan where to go next.

He picked me up and I froze in his arms. First of all; he was really cold. Second of all; he freaking _picked me up._

"Put me down!" I yelled at him; a look of surprise crossed his face.

"It looked like you twisted your ankle," He said it a little louder than the first time he had spoken. His voice was…smooth. There was no other way to explain it. "I just thought it would be easier on you." I pouted in response, but I let him carry me anyway.

**Max will be Max, she's so stubborn. **


	3. Stiched Up

**I don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride. If only...  
I said I would update once a week but I couldn't help but update sooner, I just had to get everything on paper then type it up. I ran it by my editor (love ya wizardlyvampirefied) and he said I could go ahead and release it! Enjoy!**

The pale guy was carrying me towards the house; I barely moved. I was afraid if I did I would scream. The pain in my wing just kept growing. Before I knew it I was writhing on the inside, though I didn't dare shift my position. He might drop me.

Pale guy chuckled suddenly.

"What, what's so funny?" I stared into his face, my eyes tightening just a little bit.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing," the corners of his lips jerked up a fraction. I looked around; the entire house was surrounded by trees. I could hear a river flowing in the distance, the sound of more people moving inside the house.

The houses' back wall was made almost entirely out of glass; the rest of the house was an off-white color. The pale guy pushed open the door with his shoulder and stopped. The living room had a flat screen TV, a white sofa in front of it; three people were sitting on it. There was a white piano in the corner; it almost blended into the cream walls behind it. What is with these people and white?

"Carlisle," Pale guy called up the stairs, though not very loud. Would the guy—Carlisle—be able to hear him?

Carlisle came down the stairs; his skin was just as pale as everyone else's, although he had blonde hair and the same gold eyes. He looked at me quizzically.

"What happened, Edward?" So the guy who was carrying me was called Edward… it sounds so old-fashioned.

The edges of his mouth twitched upwards again. "It seems this young girl here—"

"Max," I interrupted him, still looking at Carlisle. Something about him made me uneasy.

"Right, Max here seems to have run into some trouble in the woods. I figured you might be able to help her." Edward continued his sentence.

"How could he help me?" I asked, uneasy again. I looked back to Edward, waiting for an answer.

"Carlisle is a doctor—"

"No!" I stopped him right there and twisted my way out of his arms, I landed on my feet and gave a quiet hiss when I jolted my ankle. I looked back at Edward and saw that I had left a pool of blood on his arms and shirt.

"Listen," Carlisle came up to me and put his hand lightly on my shoulder. "What if…I tell you everything I'm going to do? You're bleeding a lot and I think it's best if I stitch you up as soon as possible."

This guy makes a good point, but I still couldn't trust him. "I don't need a doc…" Before I could finish my sentence, I felt calmer, safer. I nodded and he led me upstairs.

"Right in here," He pointed to the bathroom. "Just sit on the tub, I'll get my medical bag and be right back." He gave me a small smile as I went into the bathroom, the calmness cut off just as suddenly as it came.

I sat on the edge of the tub like he told me to and waited.

"What happened?" I heard his subdued voice in a room down the hallway.

"I'm not sure how to explain it," It was Edward talking. "Something, it looked like a werewolf—A real one," he added even lower. "It was attacking her."

"And what did you do?" This time Carlisle sounded worried.

"Nothing, she—"

"She beat the living snot out of the thing!" It was the black-haired one this time.

"Shhhh! Alice!" Alice, another name to remember.

"Alright…" he paused. "Well I better go and help her," Carlisle finally said.

He came back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. I acted like I heard nothing; it would be weird if I could hear that all the way down the hall anyway.

"It looks like you're back was scratched or something…" He said. "Can you take off your jacket and lift up the back of your shirt?" I looked at him felt a surge of adrenaline; I thought about running past him and down the stairs, but I needed help. Suddenly though, I remembered something I had seen on television.

"Don't doctors have to follow some kind of oath?" I said it in a low voice, so that no one else could hear. "Where, they can't tell anyone anything about the patient if they don't want them too?"

"That's correct," he said, although he looked confused. "Why?"

I sighed and looked at him. "Then you can't tell anyone, okay?" I said; making sure I had this right.

"Alright," He agreed, still looking at me like there was something wrong with me—how ironic.

I slowly took off my windbreaker, and dropped it. When it hit the floor it kind of thudded, it was soaked through with blood and rain.

I turned to the side a bit so that Carlisle could see my wings; they came through slits in the back of my shirt. I got the reaction I expected, his mouth silently formed the words "oh my god."

He cleared his throat and looked me in the eyes. "How did you get hurt?"

"I was, um, shot." I looked down at the floor, avoiding his questioning gaze.

"Where exactly?" He said, sounding completely professional.

I wrapped my wing towards me and pushed a few feathers aside, feeling for the hole. I winced as I found it; Carlisle took it that that was where the wound was. He replaced my hands with his.

"It's caked with blood," He said, furrowing his brow. "Maybe you should clean up a bit," he nodded to the shower. "Then we can get a better look at the wound." He let go of my wing. His hands, like everything else, were red with blood. He rinsed them off then opened the door just enough for him to slip out.

I stood up and looked towards the shower, it looked pristine. Sighing, I removed the rest of my clothes and stepped in. I turned the dial almost all the way to the H and turned it on. The hot water felt so good, I let it run down my back for a few minutes.

I focused most of my time on my wings; I used my fingers and the soap to clean out the congealed blood from the layers of feathers. When the water coming off of them ran clear I finished up by washing my hair with some shampoo I had found. I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel on a rack nearby; I wrapped it around me, under my arms. I left my wings out so they could air dry.

I took another towel and started drying my hair. Just when I had finished, the door opened. Alice was standing there, looking down at the clothes in her hands.  
"I brought you something to wear…" She said. She looked up and her mouth formed an 'O'. Before she could recollect herself I ran over and slammed the door in her face. _Wow, that was nice of you. _They were trying to help me. I sat down on the edge of the tub again and looked down at the clothes on the floor. _I could always just put them back on and bolt…_ Thoughts were running amok in my head when a knock at the door stopped them in their tracks.

"I'm uh… Sorry. About that, I mean. I brought you some clothes…can you open the door?" She sounded nice enough; I let her put the clothes on the counter. I went ahead and dried my wings, I was about to slip on the shirt when I noticed they still had the tags on. I wondered why they would give me their brand new clothes, but quickly dismissed it. I tore off all the tags and put on everything, Bra, underwear, a light blue shirt; it said American Eagle on the side (kind of ironic, huh?) and a pair of jeans. Everything fit me perfectly.

I went downstairs and saw Alice and Edward on the couch, some guy with blonde hair had his arm around Alice, and a woman—she looked to be in her twenties—was sitting at a table with some papers in front of her.

"Where's—"

"Carlisle? He'll be back in a minute; he had to get some supplies from the hospital." The woman looked over at me and smiled. "Sit down and relax for a minute," She returned her attention to the papers in front of her; I tried to get a better look. Were they blueprints?

I shrugged and went and sat down next to Edward. They were watching a football game on TV; there were only two minutes left in the quarter. It was Steelers vs. Raiders. Steelers were ahead by six points, Edward looked kinda ticked.

Just when The Raiders scored (Edwards face lit up), Carlisle came in, his medical bag in his hands. I took the cue and followed him upstairs, he lead me into his office.

"Alright then," He said it quietly and with a sigh. He looked at me then remembered that my last shirt had slits in the back. "Here," he got up and went over to his desk; he pulled open a drawer and brought me some scissors.

I drew my arms inside my shirt and twisted it around; the back was now facing forward. I took the scissors from him and cut two straight lines about one foot long, and then set the scissors down. I twisted my shirt back around and angled my wings through the gaps.

He zipped open his bag and brought out a syringe. "I'm going to have to use a local anesthetic. It will only hurt if you tense up," he said, seeing my muscles tighten.

I forced myself to relax. I felt the needle go under my skin; I had to bite my lip to keep from freaking out. He threw the needle away in the garbage can next to his desk.

"It'll take a minute for it take effect," he said. A look of worry flickered across his face; he tilted his head a fraction. "What's you full name?"

"Maximum Ride," I saw a glint of amusement in his honey colored eyes.

"Where are your parents?" That hurt.

My eyes darted to the floor. "I don't have any." When I looked back up his face was full of pity.

"The anesthetic should've taken effect," he broke the silence a few minutes later, changing the subject to something less sensitive. He pulled out a needle and thread and found the bullet hole. I felt a slight tugging at the edges of it, but it didn't hurt. I looked out the window at the back of the office, it was getting dark. The eraser wasn't there; I wonder what happened to it?

"All finished," he snipped the thread and put everything back in his bag. That was quick.

"Thank you," I stared back out the window. "I need to get going…" I said it low, but he heard me.

"You can't go anywhere like that; at least stay the night." I looked at him and couldn't help but feel a surge of—something. I wasn't sure what it was. "We have an extra room; you could sleep there for now."

**Haha! What will Max say? Why am I ending with a cliché question? **


	4. All Alone

**I don't own MR or Twilight and if I did I would be rich and famous, not writing fanfics on here.  
Ah, the answer to the cliffhanger. :) **

"Look, that's really nice of you…" I walked past him, brushing up against his shoulder. "But I have something uh, important that I have to take care of." Before Carlisle could say anything I started walking down the stairs.

"You can't go!" Alice stood up from the couch, but I ignored her, walking out the back door.

A hand caught me by the shoulder and turned me around.

"If you try to fly," I could barely hear Carlisle, and that's saying something. "You'll end up ripping out the stitches." I stared into his honey-colored eyes.

"Yeah, well we wouldn't want that." I said it sarcastically, but I followed him back in anyway.

I sat back down and turned my attention to the TV. The raiders were now ahead by seven; it was halftime and the announcers were discussing the standings and the cheerleaders were putting on their routine.

The third quarter had past and the last was about to start when two people walked in. One was a guy; he had dark brown hair and he was really buff. He had his arm around the waist of some girl; she was blonde and taller than Alice (but then again, who wasn't). They were staring into each other eyes… It was so sickening.

Edward stifled another laugh.

"Okay, you are going to have to tell me what the heck is so funny." I was getting really annoyed by this creep. He turned to me and smiled, showing his teeth. I backed off, but I couldn't figure out why. I shook it off and glanced back at the happy couple.

"Who is that?" It was almost a shriek; it came from the blonde one. I hated her already.

"This is Max," Edward said it as "Calm down Rose" Came from the guy standing up.

"And why is she here?" She said through gritted teeth. Seems _someone_ isn't happy to have me here.

"She—"

"Rosalie, be nice!" It was the twenty-something. "By the way, I'm Esme." She gave me a warm smile. I tried my best to return it but I think it came out as a grimace.

"I'm Emmett." The Buff one gave me the biggest grin I had ever seen, it looked like his head was going to split in two. I gave him a nod as he sat down on the other side of Alice and the blonde guy. "Who bet on who?"

"Jasper's got fifty on the Steelers, my moneys' on the Raiders." Edward leaned closer to the screen as the Raiders made another touchdown.

Jasper cussed and walked out, while Edward was shaking with laughter.

Rosalie was still standing next to the door—I think it lead out to the garage—she was fuming. After another minute, she finally gave up and sat on Emmett's lap.

The game finished 32-14 and went to the Raiders. Edward looked smug; I wonder how much he won? Rosalie and Emmett headed upstairs, a look of pure lust in their eyes. I gagged a bit.

"I'll show you your room," Esme gestured for me to come over. She led me up the stairs and into a bedroom just across from the bathroom, down the hall from Carlisle's office. The walls were white (what were you expecting?) but the carpet was a gold color; it matched the comforter on the bed in the corner of the room. "Alice got you something to sleep in," She nodded to the pile of clothes on the bed. "You can change in here or in the bathroom. Good night." Her overly-sweet voice sent chills down my spine. She slipped out the door and left me to think.

I slipped into the tank top and pajama pants that Alice left, though I kept on my bra, you never know when you have to leave in a hurry. I shut off the lights and shimmied under the covers, lying on my stomach.

I thought about the flock, all of them. I thought about how they left me, but I couldn't blame them. Not when, everywhere _I_ went, the erasers followed. Whenever they were off on their own, they were never pursued. I miss Fang, but we decided it was best if we went our separate ways. He was in charge of the flock now; I hope they were doing alright.

The embrace of sleep closed around me as memories of the flock swirled around in my head.

-X-X-X-X-

**EPOV**

I sat there on the couch, the television down low. I wasn't really watching it, but it gave me something to do. I heard soft footsteps behind me, barely audible but still there. I turned towards Alice as she sat down.

"Something's bugging you." It wasn't a question, she already knew. Well, for the most part.

"It's not a big deal," I said it though it wasn't convincing, her lips turned down at the corners.

"Tell me," our heads turned towards the stairs as we heard rustling, it came from my room. I lowered my voice even more.

"It's not something that needs to be told." She looked at me skeptically, so I continued. "What did you see?"

"What do you—" Realization crossed her face as she remembered what had happened earlier.

"I can't tell you." I frowned at this. "You heard her; she was so paranoid making sure Carlisle wouldn't tell anyone. I doubt she'd be happy if I went and told someone."

"Told someone about what?" I raised my voice, but it was no use, her lips stayed sealed. I stood up and ran up the stairs, making no noise. I stopped in my room, a small distance from the edge of the bed and stared down at her. She had the cover pulled up to the back of her neck, her arms folded under her head.

_Why are you so intent on knowing?_ Alice asked me, not daring to speak; afraid she would wake up Max.

"Because I can't read her…" I mumbled it, but she heard me.

_Not at all?_ Another unspoken question, though of course I heard it anyway.

"She's…guarded. I can read her when she's relaxing, and I can read her now." Her dreams made no sense, pictures were flashing by but they were almost too fast to see. I turned to Alice. "I want to know what happened to her to make her so protective."

"I still can't tell you." She flitted out of the room, frustrating me to no end.

I walked out, closing the door quietly behind me.

After a few hours, I turned off the Television; there was nothing good on and anything worth watching I had already seen. I stood up and faced my piano, I hadn't played in awhile, and it was long over due. I sat down and pulled the notes from my memory, letting my hands fly across the keys.

"What are you doing up so late?" I almost jumped at the voice, it was Max.

"I could ask you the same thing." I stopped playing, looking over at her. She had put on a sweatshirt before she came down. "Are you cold?"

"What? Oh, no, I um…" She paused. "Well, yeah I guess." She looked down and ran a hand through her hair.

"Why don't you go back to sleep?" Most people slept longer than that. I think.

"You're the one with circles under your eyes."

"It's pitch black, how can you tell?"

"How can you play if it's so dark?" It was my turn to look down nervously, she didn't miss a beat. I almost laughed at the smug look on her face. She stood there for another minute waiting for an answer to her question, but I refused to give her one. She sat down next to me on the bench with a sigh.

"What, no sheet music?" She looked over at me and smiled, it would've taken my breath away if I had any. I gave a nervous laugh as she yawned and went back upstairs.

**The question of where the flock is at has been answered! I'm sure everyone enjoyed the look into Edward's perspective, it might pop up more often if you like it. :) Please Review! I would love your criticism, please tell me if you love it, hate it or have some serious problems with it. **


	5. Long Day

**I'm sure the suspense has been killing you, but here is chapter five!! I hope you like it. Writers block hit me really hard but I finally got past it thanks to my friends and my iPod. :) *sigh* The lawyer-bots inform me that I must say this; I do not own Twilight or Maximum Ride. Enjoy reading. :) **

"_What did you do to her?" The man was yelling at a white coat. When he didn't get an answer he yelled again. "What did you do to the subject?" _

"_I did what the director told me to do." He said it with a straight face, but he was trembling as if he were the one just injected with some strange serum. Sadly though, this was not that case, the liquid had been injected into my arm. I was shivering so badly I couldn't see straight. _

"_Max, are you okay?" I looked at the man with the glasses. Although he wasn't wearing a white coat, I knew he was one of them. I didn't answer, just growled in response. It was the best I could do; I was seven and trapped in the back of a cage. _

_The man grabbed my arm and I closed my eyes, I could feel a needle going under my skin. The trembling slowed and I looked back at him. _

"_You're in trouble Jeb," a voice behind him sang sweetly. _

**MPOV**

I woke up trembling as I was in the dream; a thin sheen of sweat had covered my forehead. I pulled myself up and rest myself against the headboard. I sat there until the scent of food drifted into the room. I slipped on a hoodie to hide my wings and ran downstairs. No one was in the living room, so I walked into the kitchen.

"I got you something to eat." I turned away from the McDonalds bag on the table to the voice; it was Esme.

"Thank you." I really meant it. I hadn't had a good meal in weeks. She left the kitchen; I heard the high-pitched hum of the TV as she turned it on. I practically inhaled the McMuffins (She got me three!) and the sprite. When I was done I walked into the living room.

"Where is everyone?" I asked her, the house was vacant except for me and her.

"It's Monday, Carlisle is at work and the kids are at school." Duh, Max. That should've been obvious if I were normal.

"Well…do you mind if I walk around outside for a little while?" I asked her. Why was I asking permission?

"Alright, come back before five." Right, because I have a watch to tell me what time it was. She must've read my mind or something—I flinched when I thought of angel—Esme got up and walked over to the piano, where a cell phone was sitting on top of it. "Keep track of time with this." She threw it to me, really fast. I reflexively caught it, but it hurt when it hit my hand.

"Thanks," I ran upstairs and changed before heading out to the forest.

It wasn't raining, but it wasn't sunny either. The barest amount of light was filtering through the clouds. The ground squished beneath my feet as I walked, it was still saturated with water. I loved the temperature; it was about sixty-five.

Wildlife was teeming, creatures scurried in the trees and on the ground. Although little sun ever came to this town, the bit that filtered through the canopy gave life to ferns and wildflowers on the forest floor.

Wow, that sounds kind of poetic.

After about an hour or so of walking, I came to a clearing. It was perfectly round; the grass was overgrown, but the multi-colored flowers made the view spectacular.

I sat down in the middle and thought about what I was going to do once my wing healed. It would be another few days, the bullet went straight through my wing, and muscle and sinew take longer to heal than bone. After that, I have to go back to Death Valley, California to the school. I shivered at the thought, but I knew I had to.

_You're right; you do have to come back. _

_Why hello there voice, long time no hear. _

_Well, that's because you've been blocking me. _

_Yes!_ I finally succeeded in getting rid of the stupid annoying voice. Almost.

As I concentrated as hard as I could, I could hear the voice fading away.

_Max, listen to me…_

Once I had my mind back to myself I took off the hoodie I was wearing, revealing the slits in the back of my shirt. I stood up and stretched everything, my legs, arms and wings. I took out the cell phone Esme had given me, it was four. Wow, I had been here longer than I thought. She said I had until five, but it took me forever to get here, I might as well go back. I slipped on the hoodie and started running back to the house. It felt good to stretch out my muscles; I barely ever ran, only flew. I slowed down when I got closer to the house, I heard rustling nearby. It looked like Jasper and Edward. I wondered what they were doing.

I wasn't paying attention; I tripped and cut my arm on a sharp rock. I heard snapping and saw Edward holding back Jasper, who looked like he was about to kill me. I blinked and the two of them disappeared.

The cut was bleeding; it was on my arm right below the back of my wrist. The forest thinned out and I was in a small field; the backyard of the huge house. I walked through the door where I was greeted by a few pairs of black eyes.

"Did you cut yourself?" Alice asked me, she looked worried, but not for me. Her eyes kept glancing behind me, towards the forest.

"Yeah, but I'm fine." The bleeding had already slowed down. "What's Jaspers' problem? I saw him and Edward in the forest; he started freaking out when he saw the cut."

Her eyes flashed and went vacant, she stared right through everything.

"Alice?" My head tilted to one side. "Are you okay?" She gave a small jump and her eyes filled with life again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking." The pixie gave me a smile and turned towards Esme. "I'm going to find Jasper." With that she flitted out the door. When I turned back, she was gone.

_You need to watch your back, Maximum. _

_I thought I got rid of you. _Why would I need to watch my back? These people are helping me.

_You can't trust anyone; you should know that by now. _Good point.

_These people are different, I can tell that. But just because they're different, doesn't mean there's something wrong with them. _

The voice stopped there, maybe because it refused to say more, or maybe because I was concentrating hard enough to block it.

It wasn't that much longer—maybe half an hour—when Alice, Jasper and Edward finally came back in. I was staring into the depths of their eyes; they were a solid, honey color. Before they had been almost completely black.

"Why do your eyes change color?" Before I could even think, the question had spurted out of my mouth.

Alice had opened her mouth to answer, but Carlisle came waltzing into the room. That was the perfect way to describe it; a waltz. The way everyone here moved was so graceful, as if every move were part of some complicated dance made with steps only they knew.

"Hi Carlisle," Alice had given him a wide smile as he sighed, the bruise-like circles under his eyes seeming deeper than ever before. He looked as if something was bothering him, his eyes were lifeless. He walked upstairs and into his office; everyone else had taken a seat on the couch.

I know that curiosity killed the bird-kid, but I just couldn't help myself. I followed Carlisle's steps and stopped at the door frame, leaning against it.

"What's wrong?" He had sat down at his desk, filing some papers away, they looked important but I didn't get a good look.

He looked up at me when I heard his voice; his eyes filled with misery. "I just had a bit of a rough day at the hospital." I would too; hospitals were number two on places I never want to go, right after the school of course.

"Something happen?"

He gave another small sigh. "I guess you could say that. I just diagnosed a teenager—about your age— with terminal cancer."

I may not know a lot of medical terms, but I certainly knew that one. "Cancer," I silently mouthed the word, it left a bitter taste at the end of my tongue. He nodded and went back to filing his papers,

Later Esme had made dinner, though I found it odd that everyone else had already eaten. She only made enough for two though (I ate all of it) so nothing was wasted.

I went to sleep later that night and began to dream, but everything that passed through my head was a nightmare.

**EPOV**

Nightmares flashed under the eyelids of the girl sleeping upstairs. I had always thought that sleep was peaceful, but I couldn't see how that might be with the horrible images passing through Max's mind. It was almost identical to the dream she had the other night, though completely different in its own way. I felt the need to wake her up, to rescue her from the torments of her mind. I stood up from the couch, but Alice pulled my arm back down.

"What's wrong?" She looked not at me, but through me, with her topaz eyes. She answered her own question a few seconds later, seeing what was going to happen.

"You can't see what I can," I pleaded with her.

"But I can see what will happen if I let you up there."

"And what might that be?" I honestly had to ask this time; I was so preoccupied with what Max was dreaming of that I paid no attention to Alice's vision.

"You would find out her secret!" She smiled and teased me with the prospect of something I don't know.

"All the more reason to go up there." I smiled as her plan backfired.

I ran upstairs, passing the door in a millisecond, stopping at the edge of the bed. I reached out to gently shake her shoulder. I could feel the slight heat of her pulse radiating off of her; her heart was beating so fast, even in the depths of sleep, though that may have been because of the nightmare.

Alice grabbed my wrist and pulled it away. "Then tell me," I pleaded again, as Max stirred in her sleep.

"You have to tell me what you hear first." She smiled at the conditions she laid down, but knowing I had no other way I sighed.

"Her dream; she's in a lab of some sort. There are cages everywhere; it looks as if someone filled them with failed science experiments. She's being led into another room and—" I broke off suddenly because the dream had ended right before I had finished talking. Max was sitting up in the bed staring at us, a few feet away from her.

"Were you just reading my thoughts?" I flashed a look to Alice, she too looked surprised.

**Say hello to my friend, the cliff hanger. :) **


	6. Secrets Revealed

**Yeah, I know I'm taking awhile getting to the main plot (believe me, it's a bit far from what you might expect) but I promise it's coming in within the next chapter or so. ****Let the rising action start…now!**

_Flashback; (EPOV)__ I ran upstairs, passing the door in a millisecond, stopping at the edge of the bed. I reached out to gently shake her shoulder. I could feel the slight heat of her pulse radiating off of her; her heart was beating so fast, even in the depths of sleep, though that may have been because of the nightmare. _

_Alice grabbed my wrist and pulled it away. "Then tell me," I pleaded again, as Max stirred in her sleep. _

"_You have to tell me what you hear first." She smiled at the conditions she laid down, but knowing I had no other way I sighed. _

"_Her dream; she's in a lab of some sort. There are cages everywhere; it looks as if someone filled them with failed science experiments. She's being led into another room and—" I broke off suddenly because the dream had ended right before I had finished talking. Max was sitting up in the bed staring at us, a few feet away from her. _

"_Were you just reading my thoughts?" I flashed a look to Alice, she too looked surprised._

MPOV

Alice and Edward were standing at the edge of the bed, their eyes wide open, staring at me.

"I said, were you just reading my mind?" I repeated it slow enough so they could take everything in; they still looked baffled.

Edward cleared his throat and looked at me. "That's ridiculous, people can't read minds," He said it as if he meant it, but he couldn't help the tugging at the edges of his lips. I was getting so sick of this, I felt sleep deprived and my wing was starting to hurt; I must've fallen asleep on my back. I jumped out of the bed and stood right up against him; he was _tall_, and I knew because I was almost six feet. He was about four inches taller than me.

"So what, are you saying you're not a person?" I smirked back at him but his smile fell. His eyes flashed behind me and grew even wider; they looked like they were about to pop out. "Well?" I egged him on.

"Wings?" He said it in barely a whisper. Wings? I looked back and realized I was wearing the tank top Alice gave me to sleep in. The cut in the back was right underneath my shoulder blades; my wings were splayed out behind me. I looked back at him, he had rearranged his features; it was a cross between a smirk and devastation.

"Well, that explains it." I was straining to her what he said now, yet his voice came out in a clear tone, not at all like a whisper. It still sounded so musical…

Shut up, Max.

"Explains what?" I regained my composure and stared at him, avoiding looking into the golden depths that all thoughts were lost in. I thought back to what he was talking about right after I woke up. "It explains my dreams." It made sense, I was dreaming about the lab again. He looked down in guilt; I practically screamed in anger as I backed away from him. I looked to the wall of windows, one of the panes opened out. I heard Alice gasp as I opened the window and jumped out. The air gathered under my wings as I unfurled them, and blasted into hyper-speed.

The meadow that took me an hour to walk to earlier today only took me about two minutes to fly to, going as fast as I was. I wasn't planning on going there at first; I just ended up in the field, sitting in the middle of it.

_I told you that you should watch your back._

**EPOV**

I followed Max from the ground, but she was going faster than I imagined she should be able to. She ended up landing in the meadow, sitting in the middle of the fluorescent flowers and tall wild grass. I stopped at the edge, trying to stay hidden yet knowing that if she faced where I was she would be able to see me. I watched her to see if she would fly away again, but she just sat there; when I heard a voice. Not a voice though, a thought.

_I told you that you should watch your back. _I looked around for the source of the thought, but it seemed to be coming from Max.

_Yeah, thanks for that._ This came from Max as well. What was going on here? And why could I hear her? She was tenser than ever.

_In case you didn't notice, you're bleeding._ She turned to look at her wings; the color of them was beautiful. They were tawny with white speckles barely visible at the edges of each feather. She moved aside some of the feathers, she had ripped out her stitches. I wanted so much to go over and help her. I never _noticed_ her before, but the moonlight highlighted every aspect of her; her hair was a light brown color and she was tanned, probably from flying in the sun. Her eyes were a beautiful chocolate color, filled with secrets and deception.

"Crap," She voiced her thought and winced as another stitch popped open. I decided I might as well go over to her; my legs had already started walking towards her without my consent. The smell of her blood was odd…tantalizing yet just animal enough to keep me at bay. I sat down next to her, being sure to go slow so I don't surprise her.

"What do you want?" Her voice was tinged with bitterness, but I could hear the sadness beneath it.

"I'd like some answers." Her chocolate eyes turned toward me, looking at me with suspicion.

"And why I should I give you any?" _Maximum…_ The voice in her head was warning her, but she seemed to be used to ignoring it.

"Because I'll give you some answers in return." She arched her eyebrows but nodded in agreement. "Ladies first," I smiled as questions went running through her head.

"So, you can read minds." I nodded; it was the simplest answer I could give. "And why were you listening to my dreams?"

"One question at a time, Maximum." Amusement played around the corners of her lips as they jerked up a fraction.

"Shoot."

"How did you get the wings?" That was the burning question.

"I was born with them. Now why were you listening to my dreams?" She was stubborn; I didn't think I would get the full story, so I might as well answer her question.

"I can't control who I listen to, I hear everyone at once. It's almost like listening to a crowd of people though; it's all a buzz until you focus in on someone." I gave more detailed answer than I had planned; though if I divulged more, maybe she would.

"Sounds annoying," She muttered under her breath.

"Extremely," Another smile played at the corners of her lips, the moonlight danced in her eyes as she waited for the next question. "What was that thing that attacked you?" The smile fell and her eyes hardened with the memory.

"They're called erasers," She looked down and picked a flower, pulling off the petals. "They're human-lupine DNA experiments trained to find me and the flo—" she cut off, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She took in a deep breath and sighed. "They find me every once in awhile. The results aren't good." A glint of amusement replaced the sadness, though I can't imagine why.

"You said they had human-lupine DNA, do you have avian DNA?" She nodded, and then looked mad.

"You got two questions," She said it a bit outraged. I gave a half-hearted shrug as she prepared her next question. "Alright, so anyone who can read minds can't be a normal person." She looked back to me as a gust of wind blew her hair away from her face, the grass swayed in the same direction. "So what's…different about you?"

She sounded rather childlike when she said it, at least to my ears. I was about to brush a few strands of hair from her face, but let my hand drop when she flinched away.

"That, you'll have to find out for yourself." She had a look of wrath on her face. She stood up and flicked open her wings when I grabbed her wrist and stood up myself.

"Might I remind you that you tore out your stitches?" She gave me a poisonous glare and tore her hand away from mine.

"Mind leading the way?" I chuckled under my breath at her bitterness.

-X-X-X-X-

**MPOV**

It had been about a day and a half since Edward found out about my wings. When I had gotten back from the field with Edward, Carlisle was walking in from the front door. Edward told me later that the teenage girl with cancer had died.

I had my stitches redone, but other then that, nothing happened. I'd been spending all my free time trying to figure out what was different about the family.

_Need some help with that? _The voice chimed in as I was weaving in-between the trees. I wondered if Edward was listening; it turns out he can hear me either when I'm relaxed or when the voice was here.

_I would love some help, but I know you're not going to give me any. _

_Well, let us review what we know._ Hmm, maybe it would help today.

_Alright…Gold eyes, mind reading, pale—and really cold—skin. _

_You've got the obvious, now think deeper. _

_Sorry voice, nothing's coming to me. _My head exploded as I fell to the ground. Images were flashing in front of my eyes as I lay in fetal position on the ground.

_Esme threw you the cell phone,_ The voice was talking through the pain, and I could barely concentrate on it. _She threw it so hard you hurt your hand. They have super strength. _Next came from earlier today, I was talking to Alice—she tried to get me to wear a _dress_—and I could hear Emmett laughing from downstairs when he shouldn't have been able to hear me. _You were practically whispering; they have super hearing. _The last flashback was when I was coming back from the forest the other day, I cut myself on a rock and Jasper snarled at me. _You can guess that one for yourself…_ The voice chimed out and the pain faded away. I went over all the clues, feeling that I was missing something obvious.

_We created you with super thinking capabilities; don't tell me you can't figure this out. _The voice chuckled as my brow furrowed in concentration.

Vampires!

Oh my _god_, vampires.

**Cliffy has paid us yet another visit; I think he likes this story. Please review; I need to know what you guys think. In case I need to remind you, I allowed anonymous reviews so you can review without an account, yay! **

**Also, I'm thinking about making an Iggy/Ella story, all the rest of the couples are canon. Please, please tell me what you think!**

**Another note; I will be gone from tuesday-sunday so I might not update for about a week. Just don't freak out, I promise I will write it all down in my notebook and type it up as soon as I get home!**


	7. Twenty Questions

The pain in my head had subsided and I continued to walk in the forest, though I stopped in my tracks as I heard a ghostly chuckle drift over from behind a close by tree.

"I thought it would take you longer than that." Edward laughed again as he glided over to me, making no sound. He must not have seen my brain attack. "Why don't we continue out game of twenty questions?"

"Alright, you first." My feet started shuffling through the yellow and red leaves that were now falling from the trees.

"Where have you been living?"

"Nowhere really, I spend my time trying to avoid running into erasers and finding information to take down the school." He gave me a questioning look as I said the last words. "The school is where I grew up, where the scientists experimented on me for seven years." My voice dropped and I shuddered as I looked back on all the crap that had happened to me. I sighed and looked down at my feet, the shoes I've had for a few years were almost falling apart.

Edward walked closer to me and put his arm around my shoulders. It was awhile before her finally broke, breaking the calm silence that bathed the forest. "It's your turn to ask a question."

"Okay, so…you're not gonna eat me, are you?" I looked up at him—I hated that he was taller than me—and grinned. He ran his free hand through his hair and looked down as he spoke.

"My family and I consider ourselves…'Vegetarians'. Instead of humans we…prey on animals. We do have to be careful though—you saw how Jasper reacted when you cut yourself. He was thirsty and he couldn't control himself when he had smelled the exposed blood."

"Does my blood smell really good or something?" I couldn't help but smile at the gruesome thought.

"That's two questions."

"You owe me," I smiled, reminding him of the other night.

He sighed as a look of shame crossed his face; I guess he didn't like talking about this stuff. "Your blood smells better than any other humans, yet it has an animal essence to it." I took a minute to absorb this new revelation; I'd have to be careful around everyone.

"Okay, next question."

He took a few seconds to formulate his question. "How has the avian DNA affected you?"

"My bones are hollow and super light. My heart and lungs are twice the size of normal humans. I'm stronger than a grown man, and can run faster than one. I have enhanced senses—like hearing and seeing—and of course the wings." We stopped walking as we came to a rushing river a few meters wide. Without waiting, I took a few running steps and pushed off the ground, letting part of my wings out so I could glide over the river.

"I'm never going to get used to that, no matter how long you stay here." Edward muttered under his breath. He used his powerful legs to catapult himself over and joined me on the other side of the river. The way the wind blew made his hair look disheveled. His face glistened as the barest amount of sun hit his granite skin.

"You don't burst into flames when you go in the sun?" I asked, realizing that light was filtering through the falling leaves.

"Not exactly…" He ran his hand through his bronze hair, messing it up even more.

"Well then, what happens?" He turned toward me. "Its part of the same question, it doesn't count."

He sighed and shuffled his feet a bit as we kept walking. "Out skin reflects the light giving off a…sparkling effect."

"How manly."

"Alright, last question," he hurriedly changed the subject. "Are there others like you?"

"Well, yeah…but," I said it in a hushed voice.

"Hold on a minute," he said stopping me. "Something's coming. Sounds like—"

"I hear something! This way, follow me!" It was an eraser, and it sounded like he brought friends with him this time.

"Follow me." Edward took my hand and guided me to a thick cluster of trees. I could hear the footsteps of more erasers opposite of where we came from. My heart sped up; it felt like it was trying to beat its way out of my rib cage. Edward pulled me behind a tree by my waist and held me close to him as an eraser ran right by our hiding place. Idiot. A few minutes passed before all the footsteps faded into the distance. He released my waist and I loosened up my muscles, rolling my shoulders and stretching my legs.

"Are you okay?" Edward looked at me, concern showing in his topaz eyes.

"A little stiff—I'm not used to standing still—but other then that, I'm fine." I rolled my shoulders again, letting my wings out to stretch.

"Stiff after five minutes?" I nodded. The appearance of the erasers had instantly spoiled the good mood I was in. We started walking back towards the house, crossing over the river once again and heading north. How did I know it was north? My inner bird compass of course!

"There's something I have to tell you, though you might not want to hear it." He looked at me apprehensively from the corner of his eyes.

"Wonderful." I rolled my eyes then regretted it as I stumbled over a root. When did I get so clumsy? I quickly righted myself before I fell, and then looked over at Edward, who was fighting a smile.

He sighed as he worded his thoughts. "You know the secret of the family, but only three of us—Carlisle, Alice and I, know your secret. It's only fair if the rest of the family know your secret as well…" He let the words hang in the air, the thought of telling the rest of his family swirling in my head.

"No. No WAY! I can't do it." He stopped walking—I didn't notice, but I had to.

"And why not?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I have trust issues."

"It's only fair—"

"If I played fair, I would be dead. Because everyone else plays dirty." He looked solemn as we walked back to the house, each minute of heavy silence feeling like an hour.

I walked into the house after Edward. The family was sitting around the television, all the couples next to each other. A blush crept into my cheeks as I realized me and Edward were the only single ones. We sat down next to each other as the news of the day played out before us.

-X-X-X-X-

It wasn't long before I decided to show the rest of the family my wings. I had thought over everything Edward said and realized that, since I'm staying here and I know about them, they should know about me. I guess I hadn't been concentrating very hard; Edward nudged me, encouraging me to get up. When I didn't move right away, he slipped his hand behind me and pushed me off of the couch, so I was standing in front of the TV.

"Hey! This is the best game of the season, Tennessee vs. U.K!" **(University of Kentucky)** Emmett yelled at me, outraged that I was blocking the game; they had just gone into overtime.

"I have something important to say." My voice dropped lower with each word I said, until they could barely hear the last word.

"Well, spit it out." Emmett was still on edge, trying to look around me to the game.

"I know about you and your secret." I blurted it out and all the vampires eyes were now on me. "And I have a secret too, and I think you should know." Everyone was focused only on me, no one even blinking. I looked down at the floor, not thinking about what I was doing as I unfolded my wings and stretched them out.

I heard quiet gasps come from the family as they took in the sight of my dark tan wings.

I watched as each of their eyes darted between my eyes and my wings. Edward had a smug look of satisfaction on his face as I shot him a murderous glare. Alice and Carlisle were practically beaming, Emmett's eyes were almost as big as his mouth, Esme looked at me lovingly, and Jasper was indifferent.

"You TOLD HER?!" Rosalie had stood up and was shouting at Edward, who held his hands up in defense.

"She figured it out herself." He had stood up along with Emmett, who was whispering in her ear, trying to calm her down. Rosalie stormed out of the room, Emmett on her tail, both moving faster than I thought possible. On the ground, at least.

I looked over to where she had disappeared. _You're causing the family a lot of trouble._

_Yeah, I know. That's why I'm leaving tomorrow. _Alice's eyes flashed blank and Edward's head turned toward me. He opened his mouth to argue but I interrupted him before he said anything.

"I said I'd stay until my wing healed." I nodded towards Carlisle, seeing as my agreement was with him. "It's fine, so I'm leaving."

-X-X-X-X-

I went shopping with Alice, which I thought was stupid since I was leaving so soon. When I said this she laughed, it sounded like bells ringing between us. She had explained earlier how she can see the future, but only the path the person was on. I asked her what she saw happening to me, but she just gave a saddened smile and ignored me.

We returned back to the house about half past nine, I felt tenser than ever. Alice had dragged me into stores clearly over their maximum capacity. Alice gave me the bag of pajamas to put in the back of Edward's closet. I ran upstairs where Edward was sitting on his bed reading some book. I set the bag down next to the wall and sat down next to him as he closed his book. My breath caught as he smiled at me.

I cleared my throat and I saw his frame shake lightly with silent laughter.

"What?" He shook his head as he stopped laughing and regained his composure.

"What are their names?" I tilted my head to the side, not knowing who he was talking about. "You said there are others like you. What are their names?" I thought of the flock and blinked away tears that threatened to spill over the edges of my eyes.

"Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel." I said it though a thick voice, the memories of us all together flashing in front of my eyes.

"What happened to them?" I'm not sure why, but that broke me. I told him about everything that had happened to me. Escaping the school with Jeb, Jeb "dying", going to a real school with a fake FBI agent as a mom (then finding out the teachers were whitecoats). And then the flock abandoning me.

Edward listened in silence, though a look of disgust crossed his face at certain parts of the story. When I was through, he told me his story, how he lost his parents and being changed. How he had to move every few years and when his family joined him and Carlisle. It sounded like such a lonely life, much like mine. Never being able to stay in one place long, never being able to get close to anyone.

After he finished telling his story, he left and I changed into some of the pajamas Alice got me, letting the embrace of sleep wash over me.

-X-X-X-X-

I woke up the next morning around six. It was still dark out and it wasn't raining. I quickly and silently found a backpack in the back of the closet. I packed it with 2 changes of clothes and a warm hoodie. I changed into some jeans and a t-shirt over a white tank top and tied a hoodie around my waist. I positioned the backpack between my wings and walked towards the window. I scanned the room one last time before grabbing the cell phone Esme gave me, and then I jumped out the window and flew away.

**Grounded, chapter 8 won't go up for about another week. My friend, Wizardly Vampirefied, had to type this up for me. Hope you guys liked this chapter, please review!! **


	8. Together

**It's...10:13PM as I'm posting this, I hope you like it. ;D**

The morning sky flew by me as I floated above Seattle. The moon was still pretty high in the sky, the sun poking over the opposite horizon. I was headed towards Death Valley, California; the voice kept telling me something I needed was in the school, though it would never tell me exactly what.

It wouldn't take me too long to get there, maybe a few hours, plus breaks. Hey, a bird kid's gotta eat.

I looked down over the sleepless city (Get it? Sleepless? Seattle?) Cars packed the road, probably people headed to their mundane jobs. The same job they go to every day, worrying about getting laid off or anxious because they might get a promotion. Normal people with normal lives and normal freaking worries.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs to the absolute brim, and then let the air out as slowly as it had come. I blanked my mind for the rest of the flight until I landed outside a city about an hour away from my destination. The city was small; there were almost no lights anywhere. It was only about three. I hadn't gone very far, but the sky was already darkening slightly due to daylight savings. I'd been going slow, enjoying flying and the taste of freedom.

Because freedom never lasts very long.

I sat in the crook of a branch, the backpack I borrowed from Edward in my lap.

Okay, I stole it, but whatever.

I stuck the bag between the back of my head and the tree, resting until darkness fell.

When the sun had sunk beneath the western horizon, I slipped the backpack on and set out again. It was better to travel at night, I would be less visible.

I arrived in the valley and landed about a hundred meters from the building sitting at the bottom of a hill. The building was surrounded by a solid steel fence, razor wire lining the top. I could hear the growls of erasers in the training field caged in near the back wall. The building was three floors and it looked bigger than a super-center.

_Brings back memories, doesn't it? _The voice rang in my head; a taunting tone tinged its words.

_Whatever. What is it I need here?_

_Well, first of all, you need to duck. _

_What?_ Just then, something hard cracked against my skull, making me drop to my knees before my world went dark.

-X-X-X-X-

"Wake up Maximum." A smooth voice drifted through my head.

"Edward?" I opened my eyes and sat up, panic rising through me as I realized I was in a cage.

"Who?" The whitecoat was peering in-between the bars of the too-small cell that held me. "It's time to go, Maximum." The whitecoat unlocked my cage and pulled me out hard by my arm. Two erasers were flanking him; they grabbed me by my arms and restrained me. My eyes widened as I saw the whitecoat coming at me with a needle.

"Hold her still!" The whitecoat yelled as I struggled, kicking the eraser's legs. I gave a quiet yelp of pain as my foot hit metal, they were flyboys. One of them twisted my arm behind my back, making me yell again.

"Let me go." I said struggling again, pure acid tainting my voice.

"I'm afraid we can't do that." The whitecoat stabbed me in my shoulder with the needle and all my muscles relaxed. My eyes closed and I fell limp in the flyboy's arms.

But I wasn't unconscious.

"Beta, dismissed. Alpha, remain." One of the flyboy's left as the remaining one picked me up. My heart kicked into overdrive as he carried me into a bright room that smelled of antiseptic. My breathing hitched as I heard the hollow _clink_ of medical tools. The flyboy laid me down on a cold, steel table and left, the sound of those Star Trek type doors closing behind him.

Through my eyelids I could see shadows partially covering the bright lights above me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we have here experiment X5130A, otherwise knows as Maximum Ride." Gasps of recognition filled the room. The whitecoat cleared his throat for silence and continued. "Today we will be biopsying each one of her organs. Please prepare for surgery."

Biopsy? _It's where they take out a piece of an organ, mass or tumor. _

_Like, CUT a piece out? _

I swear I could hear the voice sigh.

I didn't have much time to think, as the edge of a blade punctured my stomach, right below my sternum. The whitecoat ran the blade straight down until it was right above my navel. I felt every single second of agonizing pain. I tried as hard as I could to scream, but no sound came out. I couldn't even open my mouth. The pain was indescribable as the blade was cutting away inside of me, cutting out pieces of tissue.

I passed out as a blood-curdling scream finally escaped my lips.

-X-X-X-X-

I woke up shivering, huddled in the back of a cage. My head was throbbing as I lifted up my shirt and inspected the puckered scar on my stomach. I rested my head against the back of the cage. How am I supposed to get out of this?

Think Max, think!!

I clenched each one of my muscles, making sure everything still worked right, and then tested the strength of the bars on the cage. _Bzzt!_ The cage freaking shocked me! I cussed under my breath as the whitecoat from earlier came by.

"Look who's finally awake." Sarcasm seeped into his voice as he smirked at me.

"Can I ask you a question?" I snarled at him.

"You just did."

"Stop being smart. What's your name?" He looked at me from behind his glasses; he looked like a blonde Jeb.

"Taylor Wilson, why?"

"I like to know the names of the people I'm going to kill when I get out of here." I smiled sweetly as a startled Taylor walked off.

"Let go of me you pitiful excuse for a machine!" I heard a familiar voice down the hall, then a yell from it.

"Quiet down," A robotic voice next to him sneered. The flyboy walked by me, dragging a very dirty Iggy behind him.

"Ig!" I yelled and grabbed the cage bars, shocking myself again.

"Max?" he turned towards my voice before he was thrown into the cage next to mine. "Max! Oh my god, I'm so happy to see you!"

"Iggy, you can't see anything." We both laughed like we did when the flock was all together.

"Max, we made a huge mistake, the school has a chip in all of us, tracking _all_ of us." He sounded apologetic as he looked towards me with his unseeing eyes. "Not just you."

"Ig, I tried telling you guys and you abandoned me." He looked down, the deepest look of shame plastered on his face. "How'd you get in here anyway?"

"We were camping close to the border of Washington, I was taking watch. These new flyboys are _quiet_ Max, I couldn't hear them coming."

"The rest of them?" I asked, starting to panic.

"Gazzy heard the scuffle and set off a bomb." I rolled my eyes. Of course he would have a bomb. "The escaped behind the dirt cloud."

"Without you?!"

"I told them to." We both sighed simultaneously as I reached—carefully—through the bars and grabbed his hand.

"We're gonna get out of here." He nodded; his mouth in a thin determined line.

"Together."

-X-X-X-X-

I told him the plan I concocted by writing letters into the palm of his hand. It took awhile, but we had time. When I finished, we stacked our hands on top of each other and tapped them, waiting for the first block to fall in place.

"Someone's coming. Go ahead, Max." Iggy was listening intently as he said the words. I screamed as loud as I possibly could. Ig had to cover his ultra-sensitive ears as I held myself and wailed. Two whitecoats came running and looked inside my cage.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure!" The two of them were panicking as my scream went up an octave.

"My stomach!" I yelled in the most agonized voice I could. Iggy coughed, hiding an anxious yet evil laugh.

"Someone must've screwed something up!" The whitecoat's hands shook as he opened my cage. He pulled me out and was about to check my stomach when I punched him in the nose. I turned towards the other one and gave him a good round-house kick to the stomach. He automatically doubled over and started coughing up blood. I stole the keys from him and unlocked Iggy's cage, slapping him a high-five before heading to the right. We ran past cages and tables with tons of test tubes on top of them. I stopped as I came to a room full of cabinets.

_What you need is in there. _My feet carried me in and Iggy followed. I came to a cabinet, labeled X5130A.

"Iggy, listen for anyone coming." He obeyed without questioning me. I opened the drawer of the cabinet and look at about 100 files all about me.

_Grab the one labeled 'origins'_ I complied then tapped Ig's shoulder.

"Let's get outta here."

"Stop them!" The whitecoat I had kicked was on his knees yelling, one hand clutching his stomach, blood running down his chin.

Me and Ig took that as our cue to leave, pouring on speed as we ran away from the whitecoats.

"Got any bombs left?" I asked, looking over my shoulder. Five flyboys were on our tails—the new and improved ones. There was no way we could beat them on our own.

"One, but we can't use it right now; we'd be caught in the blast." We made a sharp turn when Iggy cocked his head to the side. "I hear a cell phone ringing." I grinned and headed towards the sound.

"It's the backpack they took from me; it's got all my stuff in it." I explained as we ran into a room and grabbed it. I rummaged through the bag and took out the cell phone.

"Max, this is no time to chat with your girlfriends!" he panicked, but we had gotten far ahead of the flyboys. I looked at the called ID. It was Alice. Might as well tell her where I am. Nothing better to do, right?

"Hello?"

**EPOV**

"She's not going to answer." I said, pacing behind the sofa. Max had slipped out early this morning without notice. I knew she was intent on leaving, why didn't I watch her?

"But she took the cell phone, so we have a chance—"

"Hello?" A voice picked up on the other side of the line.

"Max! Max, where are you?" Alice asked, a bit manic. I ran over, watching Alice and listening intently.

"I'm at the school." Alice relaxed, but I tensed up beside her. She looked at me questioningly as I grabbed the phone from her and put it on speaker.

"Max, what are you _doing_ there?"

"I didn't mean to get in like this, they snuck up on me!" She yelled in a strained voice.

_What's wrong with the school? _I heard Alice's thought directed at me. I silently mouthed "I'll explain later," then turned my attention back to Max's voice.

"How are you going to get out of there?"

"I'll find a way." I sighed. I've only known her for a small amount of time, but I knew she would be stubborn. Before I could respond, we heard a huge thud on Max's side of the line.

"Iggy!" She yelled away from the phone. Wasn't he a part of the 'flock' that abandoned her?

"That wasn't me!"

"Crap. We need to get go—" another thud came, this one louder than the last.

"Iggy, the bomb!" Bomb?

"I can't set it off, it's too much of an enclosed space, there's no way we would make it out!"

Max started talking almost as fast as we did when we didn't want anyone else to understand. "Me and Ig will be there soon, we just have to find our way out."

"Max, they found us!" The other kid—Iggy—was yelling, sounding strained.

"Come here little birdies." A robotic voice crooned at them tauntingly. "We have big plans for you." The line cut off.

**This had to be my favorite chapter to write so far. And I know you guys are probably either like "OMG, Iggy's back!" OR "Why the heck would you leave us with another cliffhanger?!" I left you with another cliffhanger because I know you want to find out what happens next, and ****that**** will be in the next chapter. ;) Please, please, PLEASE review! I want your feedback. Comment on how absolutely evil I am because I cut Max open while she was awake. Tell me how cute it was that Max asked for Edward when she woke up in the lab. Flame me and tell me I can't spell for crap without Spell-check!! Or, because I just put this in here to make sure I hit at least 2K words! **

**I love you all for reading this, and if you Review, you get a virtual hug. Or a cookie. Or both! Signing out, this is Felicia! **


	9. Big Boom

**Sorry for the crappy chapter title, I couldn't think of anything else. Don't kill me! Oh and, I haven't said this in awhile but, I do not own Twilight or Maximum Ride. ~sigh~**

_Flashback; **EPOV**_

_"Max, they found us!" The other kid—Iggy—was yelling, sounding strained._

_"Come here little birdies." A robotic voice crooned at them tauntingly. "We have big plans for you." The line cut off._

**MPOV**

I hung up the phone and shoved it back in the backpack before facing the two flyboys from earlier, plus three others.

"I'm sure we would have _tons _of fun with each other, but I have my own plans this weekend." I said with all seriousness. "I'll be sure to come back next time my schedule is open though."

He growled at me before lunging, the goons behind him following his lead. I tried to dodge out of the way, but his claw clipped my leg, tearing my jeans and cutting me from the knee down. Two of the other flyboys were circling me, along with who I assume was Alpha. The last two were fighting with Iggy, and he was already looking beat up. I launched myself at a flyboy, the one blocking me from Iggy. He dodged out of the way as I had planned. Ig had taken down one of the flyboys as I grabbed his hand and pulled him out and started running. These flyboys were incredibly fast and strong, but they were just as dumb as the last ones. The backpack between my shoulder blades was slowing me down slightly, so I let Iggy run ahead of me. I shouted directions at him, hoping that after a few disorienting minutes we would find the Exit.

"This isn't working!" He yelled back at me. He stopped and waited for me to catch up. "We should find some stairs; I think we're on the second floor or something." I nodded before Iggy grabbed my shoulder and pushed me down, a knife stuck in the wall where my head had been moments before.

I got back up and turned around. "Find some stairs; yell for me when you get to them." Why was I sending the blind kid to find stairs? He could find them with the echoes of his footsteps off of the empty hallways. I heard his footfalls fade away as I faced the flyboys. Only four were left; the one Iggy pounced on had busted its head. I yanked the knife from the wall and ran towards the group, bloodlust clouding my vision. I hopped over a flyboy and clung to his back, wrapping my legs around his waist. I threw my arm around his neck and stabbed the knife where his neck met his shoulders, tearing it around. If he were alive, it would've severed his trachea. The flyboy crumpled underneath me and I landed on top of him.

Two down, three to go.

One of them kicked me in the head; snapping it to the right and making me bite my tongue. I wrenched the knife out of the flyboy, the sound of metal scraping metal was worse than nails against a chalkboard. I stood up and a flyboy punched me in the stomach, colors danced in front of my eyes.

"Now you've done it." I stabbed the flyboy in the chest and cut him open like the whitecoats had done to me. I attempted to pull the knife out, but the blade was stuck in his stomach. I pulled harder and the handle came off; I threw it at the head of one of the remaining flyboys.

"Max!" Iggy called my name and I was off, already having a few strides head start on the flyboys. I ran towards Iggy's voice; he was waiting around the corner, waving me down, the stairs right next to him. We ran down them, at the bottom was an emergency exit.

"Score! Ig, U and A!" I opened the door and he ran out, jumping up and opening his tan and white wings. I followed him, snapping out my own wings and rising in the air. "Ig, set off the bomb!" He dug into his pocket, taking out a metal object the size of a golf ball. He pushed a little blue button and threw it at the center top of the school.

"Fly. Fly so far away." His voice was deadly as he pushed himself as fast as he could, the school fading away slowly behind us. He still looked worried, even though we were quite a distance away, so I grabbed his hand and shot into over-drive. I looked back and saw the bomb give off a small explosion.

"Is that it?" He looked at me and laughed as the bomb let off an atomic sized explosion, the wind from it catching below our wings and making us go faster. The blast was pushing ahead of us, making me loose my balance and plummet to the ground, Ig right behind me. Iggy was laughing manically as I helped him up.

"That…was awesome! If Gazzy were here…" His voice faltered and his face fell slightly. He sighed and shook his wings out. "Where are we going?"

"I found some, uh…friends in Washington. It's a few hours away."

"Are you sure—"

"I _know_ they don't work for the school, I stayed with them for more than a week, and they're all fine." Iggy tensed up as I finished my sentence.

"All? How many are there?"

I counted them up in my head. "Seven." He loosened up a little though his eyes were filled with worry. "If you don't like them you can leave. Besides, they're so white you can probably see them." I smiled and we both launched off again.

We were starving after a few minutes of flying, but we knew we couldn't stop. Besides, neither of us had any money. After about an hour of flight, Iggy broke the silence.

"We've been looking for you." I looked over at him, thinking I heard him wrong because of the wind. "When Fang found out about the chips we went looking for you. We've been following your tracks for months."

"You were supposed to be taking down the school, like I've been trying to do." I scolded him, but it lost its effect. My voice was thick with sadness.

"We got rid of a few branches, almost one a month before we started looking for you in September."

"You guys left me in May. So you got—"

"Four branches, then we spent the rest of our time looking for you."

"Has it really only been seven months since we were separated?" He nodded solemnly. "It feels like it's been years." Iggy fell silent and it stayed that way until we reached the Cullen's place. I landed first while Iggy stayed in the air, circling the house.

Alice ran out and hugged me, it actually kind of hurt.

"Alice, I'm not exactly the touchy-feely kind of person." She let go of me and stepped back, a smile plastered on her face. "Why are you so excited, you barely know me."

"I can see your future though, and I _know_ we're gonna be best friends." A shiver ran down my spine as I looked up at the house. Edward and Carlisle had stepped out.

"Shouldn't you be at school, or work?" I added.

"It's four O' clock." She said with a roll of her eyes.

"Really? My inner clock must be off." I looked up at the sky and waved Iggy down. He landed more graceful than a six foot five tall kid should be able to.

"Are all of you so tall?" Carlisle asked, looking up at Iggy.

"Yes, yes we are." Me an Iggy said at exactly the same time.

"Hey Iggy, the entire house is white." I whispered to him with a smile. He pumped his fist as his stomach growled.

"Where can I get some food?"

"Right inside," Carlisle said, gesturing towards the door. Iggy ran in and Carlisle followed after him.

"What's with is eyes, they're all white." Alice nudged me and asked.

"He's blind." I said simply, following him to the kitchen.

"OW!" Iggy was hopping on one foot, holding up his other leg. "Somebody could've told me there was a table here." He muttered under his breath and started feeling his way with his hands. "White walls, white sofa, white piano, BLACK TABLE. I bet they did this as a plot against me. 'Let's all hurt the blind kid and laugh at him.' You know what? Go to h—"

"Iggy," He looked over at me, a particularly sour look on his face. "We're in the kitchen, now eat." There was food on the table; Alice probably had Esme make it for us. The look on his face disappeared; he sat down and started inhaling the food in front of him. I wasn't feeling hungry anymore, so I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. Visions of the flock ghosted behind my eyelids. A dull ache pulsed in my chest as the flock started to move.

Angel, _my _angel was leaning on her brother. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open as she slept. Her chest was rising and falling slowly in rhythm with her brother's. Her blonde curls were in tangles and her clothes were torn, but she looked every bit like a real angel, radiating serenity.

Gazzy looked equally as peaceful, leaning his head on top of his sister's. His face was smeared with soot, probably from spending too much time with Iggy working on bombs. His shirt was blood-spattered, but I doubt any of it was his. He was my little fighter; he took on as many erasers as the older kids did.

Nudge was lying on the stone floor. Now that I looked closer at the surroundings, it looked like the cave we had stayed in last fall. Her hair formed a puffy pillow underneath her head. Her mouth twitched every few seconds.

My thoughts moved to a picture of Fang and I lying wrapped up in each other's arms. I was leaning my head on him, his arm around my waist. My hand traced circles on his chest as I looked into his onyx eyes. I reached up with my neck so that my lips could reach his…

"Max?" Iggy's hand was in front of my face, snapping at me. "You okay Max? You kinda spaced out there." Esme was looking at me with a confused look on her face, as was Jasper. He had just walked in with Edward; there was a smile playing at the edge of _his_ lips, amusement plain in his eyes. Stupid mind reading vampire.

I stood straight up as a blush crept into my cheeks, warming my face. "I'm fine, I just uh, spaced out for a second."

"More like five minutes." Iggy punched me lightly in the shoulder and stepped back. "What were you thinking about anyway?" I could feel the blush grow redder as Jasper smiled, no doubt sensing the embarrassment radiating from me.

"Nothing," He looked skeptical as I walked past him and into the living room. Was I really out for five minutes? There was no way; the images had only lasted seconds. I shook my head, trying to clear it out as I sat down on the white loveseat. Iggy plopped down next to me and threw his arm over the back of the couch.

"Where did you go? You've been gone for like, 3 days." God, really? I must've been knocked out for longer than I thought. Emmett was the one who asked the question, he walked in and seated himself on the sofa. "Who's your boyfriend?" Right then I felt the urge to go over and slap him, but I decided against it. I rather liked my hand unbroken.

"I took care of some business." I said the words nonchalantly but my stomach twitched at the thought of the school. "This is Iggy, and he's _not_ my boyfriend."

Emmett hopped up, strolled in front of Ig and held out his hand. "I'm Emmett." He said with his trademark moronic grin.

"Nice to meet you." Iggy replied, a look of concentration on his face.

"He's in front of you, shake his hand." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Oh," he said stupidly, his cheeks matching the tint of red in his hair. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath and shook Emmett's hand.

By ten I could see Iggy struggling to keep his eyes open. He had talked with the rest of the Cullens who had gathered around to hear his story. He told them about the school and what had happened to his eyes, the entire time he seemed comfortable and at ease. He explained his powers to see white and feel colors. When he was finished, I had him follow me up to the third floor. We stepped into the last room on the right.

"What was that you stole from the school?" He asked me as I set the backpack on the gold comforter of the bed.

"I'll tell you after you take a shower. You smell like…fire." He grinned and ran off towards the bathroom (I showed him where it was on the way up.) A few minutes later he came out in a loose shirt and flannel pants, courtesy of Alice.

"Alright, what was it?"

"It's a folder that says origins, and I found it in a file labeled X5130A." I unzipped the main compartment of the backpack and pulled out the manila folder.

"Isn't that your number?" He asked, ruffling his wet strawberry blonde hair.

"Yeah," He sat down on the edge of the bed, the springs protesting with a gentle groan. He swung his legs onto the bed, keeping his knees bent as he leaned over to look at the paper.

"I can read it." He said with amazement filling his voice. "Because it's black letters against white…" He grinned and snatched the paper out from my hands, causing me to wince as it gave me a paper cut.

"There's not much there to read Ig, it's all in a numeric code." I stuck my cut finger in my mouth as his eyes darted across the page from line to line. I looked down at my right leg; my jeans were utterly destroyed from the knee down, drenched with blood. The wounds that had been there just a few hours before had already healed for the most part.

Iggy had suffered quite a bit less damage. He'd had a gash across his cheek and a black eye. All that was left was a slightly pink ridge an inch above his jaw line. I noticed that his eyes had drifted shut while I had given us a once over.

"You can sleep in the bed tonight, I'll take the couch." He replied with a mumble as I slipped the folder from his hands and pushed his shoulders down.

"Who's gonna take watch?" I smirked at the slurred words that escaped his lips.

"Someone will be awake at all times. I promise." With that his Jaw went slack and he turned on his side. One hand was in front of his face, clenched in a fist as his chest rose and fell steadily. I quickly dressed in some pajamas from the bag in the back of Edward's closet. I pulled one of the covers over Iggy and dragged another one to the couch, where I fell asleep.

**Hope you guys like this chapter!! I want to point out that I LOVE all of you who reviewed! I got 14 reviews on chapter 8 alone! I hope I get as many this time. You can flame me, tell me if you loved it, point out grammar or spelling errors…Anonymous reviews are enabled, so be sure to write something. **


	10. Black and White

**I could lie and say that I was traveling for the holidays, but I wasn't. I was nestled in my warm bed procrastinating. Okay, that's not true either. I had writers block. :/ BUT, I fixed it. And I like the outcome. **

**EPOV**

It was another quiet night as I lie on the couch and close my eyes. I intertwined my fingers and put my hands behind my head, tuning out the thoughts and…images that accompanied the near silence. There wasn't much I could do tonight. There was nothing worth watching on television, not that there ever was. I suppose I could play piano, but even the slightest noise would wake up max and her friend.

Her friend, Iggy was quite interesting. Blinded by scientists who wanted to enhance his already near-perfect night vision. Now he can't see at all. Well, that's not entirely true, he could see white. It's not much of a life though, the better parts of this world are in color.

I heard a small groan from upstairs—only it wasn't a groan. I sighed and stood up, headed towards the glass doors between me and the crisp midnight air. _Was_ it already midnight? I moved my eyes towards the moon that was sitting in the middle of the darkened sky. The glass doors closed behind me with a quiet click as I was greeted with a gust of cool wind. I took in a deep breath and let the scents of the forest surround me.

I walked slowly into the trees, listening to the hibernating creatures stir in their sleep. I began to run, though I wasn't sure where I was headed. I caught the scent of a large deer and changed course, I hadn't hunted in quite some time. I soon found it and pounced, my teeth finding where the pulse was strongest and sinking in. Its heart stuttered then stopped completely. I straightened out of my crouch over the animal and brushed off my shirt.

I spent the rest of the night wandering aimlessly through the forest. Eventually I came dangerously close to the treaty line, unaware I had even been heading that way. I changed course and took it as my signal to return home. It was just past dawn when I came back through the glass doors. Max was lying on the couch flipping through television channels.

**MPOV**

Edward came wandering through the doors that led outside, letting in a small breeze as he entered. I closed the folder that was on my lap and slid it between my back and the couch arm. He didn't seem to notice. I sat up and put my feet on the ground, careful to keep the folder concealed. I hadn't slept very well, the voice kept sending me images throughout the night.

"Anything good on?" he smiled at me, trying to be casual.

"An X-Men movie is about to start, but I'm not sure which one." He sat down next to me, propping his feet up on the table in front of us. Turns out it was "X-men: The Last Stand". I had to close my eyes in the beginning, where a small boy named Angel (guess what? He had wings.) had shaved his wings _off._ I shuddered at the thought. Emmet joined us on the couch after a few minutes, while Rosalie, Alice and Jasper went hunting. Iggy came running down the stairs and catapulted himself over the back of the couch, landing between me and Edward.

"What are we watching?" He asked, putting his arm around me and pulling me closer.

"You're not watching anything." I said smugly, trying to get his arm off of me.

"You shouldn't be mean to your boyfriend!" Emmett was leaning forward to see us, smiling like always.

"I told you, he's not my—"

"You should stop lying to them." Iggy interrupted me, holding back laughter. "Not after what we did last night." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"What?!" I smacked him as hard as I could, the sound echoing through the room. I got up and looked down at him, he was rubbing his cheek. He stood up and held up his hands.

"I was just telling them the truth!" He had walked in front of the TV, giving the others a show. He smiled again and started chuckling under his breath. I growled at him and pounced, but he danced out of my way. I threw a punch and tried to get his shoulder, but he dodged it and countered, hitting me in the side.

"No fighting in the house!" Emmett said teasingly, holding the door open. Iggy flung himself at me and we ended up rolling outside. I grabbed him by the arms and threw him straight up, snapping out my wings and launching myself at full speed into his stomach. I could hear him coughing and hacking as we soared higher.

"I give! I give! Uncle!" He shouted over the wind that muted his voice. I stopped, hovering in the air and dropped him. He used his wings to slow his fall considerably, landing on his feet. I landed next to him and slapped him on the back.

"Why'd you go berserk like that? It was just a joke!" Iggy coughed again as Edward and Emmett stood wide-eyed. "Unless," Iggy looked at me, fighting a smile. "You like one of them." He tugged his thumb at the other two. "That would explain it, 'cause you wouldn't want him to think we…" his voice trailed off as Emmett burst out laughing, the sound echoing off of the trees surrounding us.

"So, which one is it?" Emmett managed to choke out between chuckles. I stood there, my jaw on the ground as Iggy started up again.

"Emmett's got a girlfriend. Do you like Eddie-boy?" I punched Ig in the shoulder and glanced over at Edward. There was a crooked grin on his face but his eyes were closed and he pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand.

It took a minute for the silence to hit me. Everyone had stopped laughing. The wind whipped my hair around my face as I tried to figure out what was going on.

"MAX!" I heard a voice behind me squeak my name, and then a little blonde girl wrapped her arms around me. "Max, I missed you!"

"Angel?" I spun around and picked her up, holding her close. "I missed you too, Angel." _What's going on?_ I looked towards the trees where three silhouettes were visible in the distance. Gazzy and Nudge ran out, glomming onto me. They knocked me off balance and I ended up falling down. Angel was crushing my chest while the other two were on my sides.

"Okay, everyone get up." Angel hopped up and grabbed my hand, digging her feet into the ground and pulling me up. "Ow, Angel you're gonna pull my arm out of the socket." I laughed and stood up, rolling my shoulder. I looked towards the tree line, one person-shaped outline remaining.

Fang stepped into the gloom slowly, the dim light highlighting the dark circles under his eyes. He was wearing all black, but if he wasn't he wouldn't be Fang. He walked forward slowly, assessing the situation—and the two muscled behemoths behind me. He stopped in front of me and put his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"What are you doing here Fang?" He raised his shoulders then dropped them.

"We were looking for Iggy. Angel heard his thoughts, along with yours." He whispered it so quietly I doubt anyone else could hear.

"I can't believe we found you! Did you know we've been looking for you for months? We missed you so much. I even heard Fang mumble about you in his sleep. Isn't that adorab—" Iggy covered Nudge's mouth with one hand. I couldn't help but laugh at the discouraged look on her face.

"Why don't you come inside?" Edward offered, holding open the door. Fang had a cautious look in his eye, but Iggy and I had already started walking in with the little kids following behind us. I sat down on the sofa and nudge sat next to me with Iggy on her other side. Angel crawled into my lap and her brother plopped down next to me. Fang just stood by the TV looking awkward. He shot a glance at Edward and ran his eyes over him looking worried.

"Well? Spit it out!" His onyx eyes shot back towards me.

"He doesn't trust them." Angel said, pointing at the two 'brothers', Emmett sitting in a recliner and Edward standing next to him. Angel cocked her head to the side. "Fang, they already know about the wings and the school. They're not gonna do anything to us." She paused, looking at Edward. "The one with the reddish hair doesn't like you 'cause you hurt Max though." She smiled well, angelically as a blush crept into my cheeks. Fang and Edward both looked outraged. I looked towards him.

"I failed to mention she could read minds, didn't I?" 'Eddie-boy' nodded, still looking ticked off. Fang was staring murderously at him before I yelled his name and snapped him out of it.

"Max, you and him?" Fang sounded seriously hurt; he wasn't even trying to mask the sadness in his voice.

"What? No, I've only been here… how long have I been here?" I realized I hadn't been keeping track of the days.

"You got here a few days before Christmas, stayed three days then left for about a week, _then_—"

"It doesn't matter!" Fang yelled. The sound of his voice echoed around the empty house. Alice, Jasper and Rosalie walked through the doors, back from hunting. Fang looked even more uncomfortable in front of the new audience. "Max, come back. We found an abandoned house a few hours away from here. We have your unlimited credit card and—"

"_My_ credit card?! I was looking for that!" I stood up, Angel falling out of my lap. She ran back to the couch to her brother, both of them looking nervous. "So, you were willing to let me starve just so you could get away from the erasers?" I walked towards him, prodding him in the chest with my finger.

"It's not always about you, Max." He sounded steely; cold and detached. "What were the rest of us supposed to do?"

"Well, _we_ under _my_ leadership lived off of scavenging for, oh, about _five years!_"

"So, we eat garbage while you eat whatever you want?" He looked down at me—when did he get taller than me? All this yelling was keeping me from thinking rationally.

"Well, it is _my_ credit card under _my_ name." Apparently he didn't like that answer, because he grabbed the front of my shirt and looked into my eyes. There was something there, but I couldn't decipher it before I was swept away from him; Edward's protective arms were around my waist, Jasper's hand on Fang's shoulder and Emmett standing between us. I looked at Fang's balled fist and realized that that look in his eyes was the same one he gets before we attack erasers.

"Guys, we're leaving." The steel was back, Fang was all business now.

"But Fang," Gazzy spoke up. It was the first time I had heard his voice in months. The fact that he sounded like he was about to cry made me want to cry too. "We just got here."

He sighed, softening up slightly. "I don't care. Ig, you coming?" Iggy looked shocked, and then kept looking blindly between me and Fang.

"Yeah, I'm coming." He said with a defeated sigh. Everyone got up and started filing out, except for Angel. Edward let go of me as she ran up to me. I scooped her up and held her close, her head resting on my shoulder.

"Max, I don't wanna go." She sobbed into my shirt. There was a rip where Fang had been holding me.

"I know Angel, but you have to go." She sobbed harder and looked at my face, her baby blue eyes boring into mine. "Be good, okay?" She nodded and put her head back on my shoulder. "No controlling people's minds, all right?" She nodded again, her tears soaking into my shirt. I smiled as I felt tears streaming down my own face. I set her down and knelt to her height. "I love you."

"I love you too, Max." I kissed her forehead and wiped away the tears falling down her dirt streaked face. She ran out the door and joined the rest of the flock. They all launched off, one by one. Fang went first; his black wings the only thing darker than the sky. Next was Iggy, then Nudge; Gazzy then Angel last; her pure white wings brightening up the sky. I took in a shaky breath as they faded from visibility. I wiped away my tears with a trembling hand, and then ran upstairs. I slammed the door behind me. I didn't want to see anybody.

I climbed on the bed and sat there, my back resting uncomfortably against the wrought iron headboard. I pulled my legs up against my chest and buried my face there, my knees pressing against my cheek bones. I stayed there, sobbing silently for who knows how long. The tears eventually dried up, but I still couldn't move. I could barely breathe; it was like Angel was still sitting on my chest. My flock had abandoned me for a second time. There was only one difference this time; it hurt more.

I heard a soft knock at the door, but I didn't answer. I just took another shuddering breath, trying to block out Angel's voice. _I love you too, Max._ It's been floating around in my head since they left. It took me a minute to register the fact that Edward had come in and sat down, draping his arm around my shoulders. We sat there in silence for a few minutes before I assembled a coherent thought.

"What do you want?" I was staring straight ahead now, but his head turned and his eyes searched my face.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I haven't heard anything from you in hours. I was expecting you to start throwing things out the window with the temper you displayed earlier." I looked at him, feeling a bit dead inside.

"My flock just left me for a second time and you're trying to make a joke?" The ghost of a smile that was on his lips seconds ago disappeared.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "I'm perfectly fine. My family walked out on my with my best friend, going to live God knows where without me." I got up and stood in front of the window, looking towards the ocean of gray that _they_ escaped into. A few seconds later, his hand was resting in the space between my wings. It was cold, yet oddly comforting. I spun and looked into his eyes, the tears streaming down my face again. "I'm sorry, I'm being so stupid." I laughed at how pathetic I was while my vision was being blurred. I blinked away the tears as he cradled my face in one of his hands.

"No, you're not." I laughed at myself again and put my hand on his marble chest. I felt self conscious as I leaned in quickly, catching him by surprise as out lips met. He froze for a second, sending my heart into a nervous frenzy. Had I made a mistake? He slowly loosened up, moving his hands to my waist. Too soon he ended the kiss but he made up for it by wrapping his arms around me and holding me close.

"Everything will be okay." I nodded into his chest and flung my arms around his neck.

_I have a mission for you._

**Okay, so I have something to say. Ever heard of this thing called Twitter? I made one. Twitter(dot)com/Feliciousness **

**If you follow me on Twitter, you will know when I'm writing and sometimes WHAT I'm writing. That's right, you would get sneak peeks. For instance, if you followed me say, last week, you would've known the flock was coming back. ;) **

**Now, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Please? For Max? :3**


	11. Short Fuse

**It took me awhile to think up a way to make this chapter come out **_**right.**_** It just wasn't as good as it could've been before I thought it completely through. With a little help from Michael (wizardlyvampirefied on here) I—er, WE came up with an awesome chapter. Love ya Mike (Not really…Well, I do, just not like that.) ON TO THE SHOW! Story. …Screw it. **

**OH, and I'm adding a song to each chapter from now on, and I might add them to the previous chapters. This chapter's song is "My Immortal" By Evanescence. **

_**I'm so tired of being here  
**__**Suppressed by all my childish fears  
**__**And if you have to leave  
**__**I wish that you would just leave  
**__**Cause your presence still lingers here  
**__**And it won't leave me alone.**_**

* * *

**

The words sunk in quickly, along with the fact that the voice was back once again and haunting my thoughts. I was growing tired of this constant message it was sending me. _I _have to do everything, it's _my_ job.

"No," I said it out loud, pushing away from Edward. "I'm sick of this. All of it. No more missions, I just don't _care_ anymore." I fell backwards onto the bed, my legs hanging over the side. "Fang," The name stung as it left my lips. "Is the leader now. Go invade HIS thoughts."

_Max, you're the chosen—_

"Would you _shut up?!_ You sound like Dumbledore or something! 'You're the chosen one, Harry!' No, I'm not doing whatever the heck it is. I'm done." My rant was met with silence, my words hanging in the air above the bed.

"You do realize everyone thinks you're talking to yourself, right?" Edward tried to lighten the mood, his comment accompanied by an amused expression.

"Well I'm talking to the little voice in my head, which isn't much better. So shut it." I sat up and rubbed my temples. My blood pulsed beneath my fingers; my heartbeat was the loudest thing in the room. My shallow breathing was in sync with Edward's—that was until it stopped. "Crap, what's wrong NOW?"

He faked a smile, but his eyes were still tense. "Nothing. Stay here." He zipped out of the room in a flash of white.

In the moments I was left alone I started to repeat the incident of earlier in my head. The fact that Fang had left me once again bothered me before, but not as it did now; now that I was completely alone. No sound echoed through the house. All was perfectly still, and silent. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I was such an idiot, what if I didn't see them again? _It didn't bother you before._ Although, that was a lie. I told myself it didn't bother me, but it couldn't have been farther from the truth. My heart sank as I remembered the comatose state they had left me in. It had taken me hours just to get up (I didn't remember ever sitting down to begin with) and leave. I sat on the bed in silence looking out the window to where the Cullens were gathered outside.

They were next to the edge of the forest, all of them peering into the dim shadows. Carlisle was in front of the group; they were in the shape of a V, like most birds do when flying. _Like the flock would do when we were flying together._ I shook my head and dispersed the images that crept to the forefront of my thoughts and continued to stare down at the Cullens. Jasper was half crouched as was Emmett. Carlisle, Edward, Esme and Alice all looked extremely tense. I couldn't get a good view of Rosalie from here, but knowing her I'm sure she looked like she was about to rip someone's head off. After a few more moments, I decided to be my usual self and ignore what Edward told me to do. I got up and headed down the stairs, shrugging on a hoodie to cover the slits in my shirt and the wings that popped out of them. I tripped right as I got to the bottom of the steps. A blush crept up my face, turning me a nice shade of red before I realized that no one saw that. I shuffled out the door and followed the footprints in the mud, stepping into the right one with my right foot and the left one with my left foot, acting like a little kid.

I arrived silently behind the Cullens, the sound of an arguing voice coming from beneath the trees.

"What were you thinking, Edward? Do you _want_ to get us killed?" It came from Rosalie. _What the heck?_

"I didn't cross the line, I'm sure of that. I ran close to it, but I turned around as soon as I smelled the Wolves." Edward explained quietly to his family and the unseen audience.

"Well, you obviously weren't paying attention, because you DID cross it!" An angry voice raged at Edward from the tree line.

"No I didn't." He sounded calm and collected, but his balled fists showed that he was having trouble controlling the civilized tone in his voice. "I _just _explained it. I'm sorry to have caused alarm, but you can go back to the reservation now." His voice slipped into a low growl at the end, distaste showing clear in his voice. Three figures stepped forward, all of them with russet skin, black, cropped hair and incredible eight-packs. I gasped at the sheer size of them; they had to be at least seven feet. They easily towered over six-foot-two Edward and made Alice look like a Barbie doll. The one whom I'm sure was talking was slightly in front of the two others; one flanking each of his sides. His fists were also balled up, his frame shaking as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. I stepped forward and stood next to Edward. At this he looked down on me, some feeling I didn't bother decoding in his eyes. Worry maybe?

"I thought I told you to stay inside." He scolded me with a reproachful tone.

"I'm not one to follow directions." I looked up at him and gave him a sweet yet somewhat devilish smile. I stepped a bit in front of him to get a better look at the guys mere feet away.

"You have a human staying with you?" The living muscle mass was looking in my direction, his shaking intensifying at the same time.

"Sam should've sent someone who can keep their temper under control." I heard Rosalie's distasteful voice whisper to Emmett. Suddenly, shreds of clothes were flying everywhere as a chocolate colored…paw…thing pinned me to the ground. A large muzzle was mere inches from my face, fangs snapping together and drool seeping onto my face. Acting on instinct I drew my legs up under the over-sized rib-cage and kicked the creature off of me. I jumped up, kneeling with one hand on the ground, in a position ready to pounce. I was staring straight into the black depths that were the eyes of a _monstrous _wolf. My own eyes grew wide. _Was this some new breed of eraser? What were they doing here in Forks?_ My breathing caught and my frame shuddered as the wolf launched itself at me. I quickly dodged, jumping and catapulting myself from his back with my foot. I came back down hands first, grabbing his scruff and rolling, flinging him past the vampires watching the spectacle.

I spun on my heels and faced him, about to launch again, although Jasper's arms pulled mine behind my back, restraining them. I let out a frustrated growl as I looked into the soulless eyes of the mutant wolf.

"Jasper, let me go!" I struggled against his cold arms while staring at the wolf.

"No," He said the word as a wave of calm crashed over me. I slumped over, my hands relaxing in the vise of his. I let out a stream of profanities sounding as ticked as I could, but they still came out feebly.

_They're here to kill me. I have to fight_. I tried to speak but I couldn't, the calm emanating from jasper was acting like a silencer.

"Emmett, you wanna take her inside?**"** My head lolled over towards Emmett.

"Now why would I want to do that?" He stepped closer, smiling approval at me.

"She's about to attack Quil again and—**"**

"Exactly! Why would you want to stop that?" His enthusiasm was met with groans from the vampires and growls from giant wolf and friends. He gave up after a second and put his hand behind my back, not necessarily touching me, just guiding me. He walked me back to the house, the wolf growling at me as I passed. I hissed back in turn, but it mingled with Emmett's chuckle and lost its effect.

He pushed me down on the couch and pointed at me. "Sit…Stay…Good girl!"

I looked at him incredulously. "Would you _like_ to get beat up?" He didn't answer; instead he laughed again and went back outside to finish the calm confrontation with the wolves. I spring to my feet and stood in front of the door. I strained to hear something; _anything,_ but they were too far away for even my sensitive ears. I paced in front of the glass, looking through it every few seconds. The wolf—I guess its name was Quil—was still there. He was pacing with me, our feet hitting the ground at the same time. It felt like hours before a howl pierced the still quiet of the evening. Quil's head shot up and he walked past the Cullens to the other two guys. They all turned and ran into the forest, probably headed towards some other humongous wolf waiting for them.

I sat down as they all filed back into the house in a line. Edward was still looking tense, though almost everyone else seemed calm compared to when I'd first stepped outside. The circles under his eyes were a deep purple and his irises were void of their usual golden color, replaced instead with black.

"Is something wrong?" I snapped out of my daydream and realized that I was staring. He smiled at me with a bemused expression.

"Yes, who were they and what were they talking about?" I quickly covered up my embarrassment.

"They were from the Indian reservation a few minutes from the edge of town. As you could clearly see, they transform into wolves." I involuntarily let out a small shudder. "Werewolves—well, shape-shifters—and vampires have a bit of a history. They are our natural enemy, one of the only creatures who can destroy us other than our own kind. When we first moved here around eighty years ago, Ephraim Black was the alpha—that is, the head wolf. We made a treaty; we had promised that we wouldn't harm any of the humans in the area, and he promised he wouldn't come after us."

"Then why were they so upset about it?" Certainly they wouldn't come over here for no reason.

"One of the conditions of the treaty was that we couldn't come onto the reservation. We drew a treaty line, which they thought I had crossed last night while wandering around." It all seemed really stupid to me. What were they going to do even if he had crossed the line? Why would they bother to argue over something so insignificant when nothing major had even happened?

"It's a bit disappointing really, but the wolves are aching for a fight. They would love nothing more than to rid the world of us." He answered my unspoken question as he sat down on the couch next to me. "They've gotten extremely cocky, especially now that they outnumber us two to one. Sam is the only one with a level head; the only one who can think rationally." I listened to his quiet musing, half wondering if he was still talking to me or not.

"We could still take 'em!" Emmett's enthusiasm couldn't be killed, it seemed. "It'd just be more of a challenge." I laughed quietly and leaned my head back. I was completely exhausted today; too much had happened within the last few hours.

"And now we have to talk about something seriously." I turned towards Carlisle's voice; he was sitting in an armchair not to far away. "If you're going to be staying with us for an extended period of time, you might as well enroll in school as the rest of the children have." Someone started to protest against being called a child, but I was stunned into silence at the thought of school.

"I've never been to school before. I'm not exactly what you would call 'book smart'. I'd fall behind extremely fast…" Excuses started pouring out of my mouth, but all I could really think about was the fact that I might be packed like a sardine into a small room full of other people.

"You can take basic courses, or remedial if you have to. But if you're going to be living here, you must attempt to act normal like the rest of us." I sighed and gave up; I was _living_ here, after all. I might as well grant them some say in what I do during the day.

I spent the next hour or so watching Emmett and Jasper battle it out on some video game. My stomach growled occasionally, but I ignored it and focused instead on what I would do at school. _It's a small town; there can't be that many people here. Plus, it wouldn't hurt you to learn a little bit while you're situated in one place._ Another hour passed and I went upstairs, jumping onto the bed and pulling out the folder I had hidden under the pillow. It made about as much sense as before; it was nothing but a five page string of numbers and letters combined. There had to be something in here, I _did_ find it at the lab. I flipped through the pages, trying to understand the gibberish that smothered the paper.

"Screw this." I threw the folder and the papers inside at the far wall, although it landed right past the edge of the bed. Feeling more than a little ticked off, I changed into something to sleep in and literally fell onto the bed.

-X-X-X-X-

_I was standing in the cool forest, a canopy of green suspended in time above my head. A light mist came down and plastered my hair to my head, and placed a light barrier of water over my skin. The Cullens were standing off to the side, looking like a black and white picture from the late 1920's. Their eyes were the same gold color as they always were, and their skin the same shade of bone white. Across from them stood two grown men, both with short, black cropped hair and muscles that rippled beneath their shirts. They were caught up in their own conversation, but to me it sounded muddled and unclear. I ventured closer to the groups in front of me, trying to listen to the quiet exchange. I heard a snap and looked down at my feet; a twig was broken in two underneath me shoe. I spun around at the sound of growling; a chocolate colored wolf had stalked from the shadows and was now gazing at me menacingly. He sprung on me, claws out and about to rip me to shreds—when the scene changed. _

_I was sitting at a table in a small kitchen, a bowl of something in front of me. A girl of about 13 was in a chair across the table. She was writing on some paper and eating cereal at the same time. _

"_Done!" She finally exclaimed. "It took me two hours last night and one thins morning, but I finished my homework." She smiled and ran out the door, slinging a backpack over her shoulder as she disappeared. _

_A laugh came from behind me. I looked over and saw a woman with the same mocha eyes as me leaning against a counter. "What about you, Max? Did you finish your homework?" _

"_Yeah mom, I did." The words came from my mouth, but their meaning was foreign. I didn't know my mom, yet somehow I knew that it was this woman standing behind me. My dream self nodded and picked up a backpack. I slung it over my shoulder, much as the other girl had and stepped outside. _

My eyes shot open to greet the darkness. It had started raining and the clouds were blocking any light that might have come from the moon.

"What is this supposed to be?" I sat straight up and looked towards the black couch on the far wall. Edward was holding a manila folder, flipping through the pages inside.

"I'm not exactly sure, why?" He sighed and closed the folder setting it next to him. He leaned forward and glanced in my direction before letting his eyes fall to the floor.

"I think it has an address in it. It's here in forks."

**Sorry for the delay, but you already read about all of that at the top. I would LOVE for you to review, because I know this isn't my best chapter and I need tips. I'm _begging_ you, PLEASE REVIEW! This is your chance to interject and tell me what you want to see in the story. (Please no couple pairings, I've already got that figured out). Also, remember, if you follow me on Twitter you can get sneak peeks of the story and you'll know ahead of time a **_**little**_** of what's happening. Twitter****(dot)com/Feliciousness**** Replace the (dot) with a . Thanks! :) **


	12. Crashing Waves

***cough* I'm sorry for the hiatus, extremely so. It seems my lazy-ness and writers block combined into an unbreakable habit of putting off writing. BUT, here, is the next installment of Clipped Wings.**

**FLASHBACK!**

"What is this supposed to be?" I sat straight up and looked towards the black couch on the far wall. Edward was holding a manila folder, flipping through the pages inside.

"I'm not exactly sure, why?" He sighed and closed the folder setting it next to him. He leaned forward and glanced in my direction before letting his eyes fall to the floor.

"I think it has an address in it. It's here in forks."

At first I wasn't sure if I should thank him or be ticked off. I mean, I know I left the folder strewn on the floor and everything, but that doesn't give him the right to go through my stuff!

"I'm just trying to help." He said acidly. He mutely crossed the room and sat next to me on the bed, the school's folder still clasped in his cold hands.

"Does that ever get on anybody's nerves?" I involuntarily scooted closer to him.

"Everybody's." His face looked paler than usual in the moonlight that crept through the wall of glass. Most colors were faded, but his hair and eyes both kept their own brilliant shades. I shook my head slightly, internally laughing at the thoughts running through my head and snatched the folder from Edward's hands.

"Where do you see an address?" My eyes darted futilely along line after line of numbers.

"Well, most of the numbers are a basic code; one being A, two is B, and so on." How could I _not_ figure that out? Now I look like some kind of idiot. "Except for right here." He leaned closer and pointed to a string of four numbers; obviously too big to be a letter. "It's a house number. And the ones after it, they decode to Spartan Avenue."

"Cool…anything else?"

"Yeah…about earlier—"

"What about it?" Call me the ice queen.

A pause. A deep breath. "Nothing, but uh, the name of the woman who lives there is Valencia Martinez, she could be your mother." The name sounded familiar, but entirely new at the same time.

"She also has a daughter named Ella."

"How did you figure out all this from _this!_There's nothing there!" I struggled to keep my voice hushed.

"I have eight hours every night with almost nothing to do. It was a nice change." I almost laughed out loud, but I pursed my lips and stifled the noise from escaping. I sighed and tried to get up, but Edward grabbed my forearm.

"Where are you going?"

"I was gonna go look around. If she could be my mom, I wanna check everything out." The corners of his mouth turned down fractionally.

"I'll go." I started to say something but he quickly interjected. "It's not exactly a secluded street, there's hardly any cover anywhere. You can't fly there because there aren't any trees for you to land and hide in. Not to mention, you seem to have a habit of getting caught." A few seconds of silence assured him that he had won. "I'll be back soon."

This time when he got up, I stopped him. "Be careful, okay? She could be working with the school." I can't believe I was worried for him, it's not like he could get hurt.

"I will be." He kissed me quickly on the forehead and left, the sound of the door closing came a second after. I rolled my eyes at how overly-dramatic the scene was.

I turned over and stared at the bright lights dotting the sky. They were small, infinitesimal, but they still brightened the otherwise pitch-black night.

I opened my eyes a few hours later, not having slept at all. I'm really starting to hate sleeping, I keep having all there weird, stupid dreams. I _know_ that the voice is sending them to me, trying to keep me on track, on my mission. It needs to understand that I really am done with everything it's telling me to do. Maybe by going to school and trying to act normal, I can get the message across. I doubt it'll work, but it's worth a try.

I quickly pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, tying a hoodie around my waist and letting it fall over my hips. I ran downstairs and stuck my hand out at the bottom, catching the end of the railing and jerking myself to the left. I ran out the door and opened my wings, leaving the ground with a powerful push.

I soared over the still sleeping town of Forks, taking in the roads, creating a map in my head. I heard the sound of crashing waves in the distance and decided it would be a good place to rest for awhile. I adjusted my wings and in turn, my flight. I circled the beach a few times. When I saw nobody was there I landed not too far from the tide. I sat down and rolled up my jeans, right above my knee. I slipped off my shoes and socks, leaving them beside a pile of blue and green pebbles. As I was about to step into the water I heard a voice from behind me.

"What are you doing here?" When I whirled around I saw a boy who looked about my age—sixteen. He had russet skin and dark eyes, a contrast to his light, sandy colored hair.

"Sorry, do I know you?" He had the same muscled physique as the werewolves I saw the other day, but his face wasn't one that I recognized.

"No, but I've uh, heard about you." He stepped forward and gave me what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. "I'm Seth."

"Max." I inclined my head in a slight nod; he did too.

"Max? That's kinda a weird name for a girl." He laughed and I felt a bit more at ease, even though he did just insult my name.

"You know, you really shouldn't be here. The others would be insanely mad." He bent over and picked up a bright green rock that was almost perfectly flat.

"Why would they be mad? I didn't do anything wrong." I asked him as he sent the rock skipping across the water with a flick of his wrist. "I mean, I know the Cullens aren't allowed, but why should I be banned? I'm just human." Mostly.

"Sam thinks that, because you're hanging out with them and stuff, they're gonna change you. And that makes you just as bad as one of them, even if you aren't a vampire yet." He sent another rock sailing as I contemplated what he said.

"Why would they change me? I don't know them _that_ well." I tried skipping a rock myself, but it went nowhere near as far as the ones Seth threw.

"Hey, that's just what Sam thinks. And why are you staying with them anyway? They barely ever talk to humans." He turned and looked down at me, his eyes filled with unspoken questions.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just special." No need to tell him about the wings.

"What about your parents?" And the onslaught begins.

"They don't mind. They really don't care what I do, or about me." I sat down and dug my toes beneath the warm sand, letting the waves wash over them. I twirled a stone in my fingers as Seth sat down beside me.

"I'd kill to be you. Being a wolf, I can't tell anybody about what I am, including my parents. Every night I get grounded for huge periods of time for 'sneaking out'" He did the little air quotes around the last two words and sighed.

"So then, why can you tell me?"

"Because you already know." His tone and the roll of his eyes suggested that it should be obvious. "Well, I have to go. I'm kinda grounded right now." He laughed and ran off at wolf speed. I stayed on the beach for about another hour before slipping on my shoes, walking into the forest and launching myself from the ground. I flew above the streets, making sure my new mental map was accurate. Even though it took me twice as long as my first trip, I landed in the Cullen's secluded back yard soon after I left.

Edward was back from his stakeout, he was sitting at his piano playing something I haven't heard before. When I walked through the doors I heard a sigh of relief escape his lips.

"Sound like you were worried about me." I taunted him slightly as I took a seat next to him on the bench. He just nodded. "What, not gonna say anything?" I pushed him further, waiting for a reaction.

"I'm not allowed to say anything; Alice kept reminding me that you can take care of yourself."

"Good, you're staring to learn." I smiled and ran my hand lightly against the keys of the piano, not making any noise.

"What did you do while down at LaPush beach?" He was straining to sound casual, but his fingers still flowed flawlessly over the keys.

"I sat on the beach, watching the waves. I talked to one of the wolves, Seth. He looked really young. The other ones all looked like they were in their twenty's."

"Other than Brady—you haven't met him—Seth is the youngest wolf. Maybe fourteen, but I can't be sure."

"How many wolves are there?"

"I don't know that either. They don't exactly tell us everything." The song he was playing slowly morphed into something else, something soothing and slow. "The only reason I know about them is because I can get inside their heads." I listened to him play the rest of the song, sitting in silence and twirling the string of my hoodie.

"Don't you want to know what I found out about your mom?" He asked when the song was done.  
"I completely forgot about that. But yes, I would love to hear what you found out."

"She works at the only vet's office in Forks, and her daughter goes to the middle school. She seems perfectly normal, from what I can tell." I kept messing with the string for a minute.

"I wonder what she would say if I went and talked to her. I wonder if she really is my mom…" I trailed off, staring into space.

He paused for a second, and then looked at me. "She has the same eyes as you, if it makes any difference."

"Yeah…a little."

**Long wait, short chapter. I'm**_**really**_**sorry about that. Hope you can forgive me. And please review! **


	13. Meeting Mom

**Hey, I'm back! I think this is actually a really good chapter in my opinion. Anyway, someone brought up a question regarding my last chapter, about Seth being grounded all the time because of his mom. Well, in this story, Harry (his dad) is still alive, and he's on the council, not his mom. His mom is still in the dark about everything. And you know, most of the time if the mom wants to ground the kid, the dad doesn't get a say in it. **

**With that cleared up, we can get to the story! **

"How am I gonna break it to her? Just go up and say 'Hey, my name is Max and I'm your daughter'?" I was sprawled out on the couch, my head on one arm and my feet hanging over the other.

"You're right, that's probably not the best idea." Emmett was standing behind the couch, leaning over the back and staring at the TV. He chuckled and looked down. "You could show her those wings. She'd probably realize it then. I mean, you don't forget a kid with feathers."

I sighed and looked up at him. "Yeah, but what if she didn't know I had wings? When me and the flock were snooping around, we found out that our parents didn't know about the genetic stuff. The whitecoats just took us from our parents and told them we were dead." I imagined the woman from my dreams crying in a hospital bed over her lost child, the whitecoats faking sympathy as they patted her back and signed the papers to discharge her.

"But how could they do that?" Carlisle chimed in from over on a cushioned chair. "They'd have to have someone confirm that they—you—were dead and them take them down to the morgue. Then there's the mortician…" He scratched his head in thought.

"It's not like there were only a couple of people. They probably ran the whole hospital where it happened; they controlled every aspect of our lives from the time we were conceived to the time when we escaped." I put my hands behind my head and looked at the TV, some daytime soap opera playing out nearly silent.

_After that, you took control, didn't you? _Why did the voice have to come in at precisely the time I need my head to myself?

_Why are you back? I though I got rid of you._ I sighed internally, and I could've sworn the voice did the same.

_I can't leave; I'm a part of you._ It sounded _so_ smug.

_Perfect. Any specific reason why you're here? Are you gonna help me for once? _If it's possible to snarl a thought, I definitely snarled that one.

_Actually, I am. Valencia __**is**__ your mother. She helped make you. And not only in the traditional sense; she helped combine your genes._

_Great, I have an evil genius mom. _

"Hello? Max?" I blinked and suddenly became aware of the fact that Emmet was waving his hand in front of my face. "Earth to Max, are you still alive?" I swatted his hand away and laughed.  
"Yeah, I'm still here. Little voice in my head is bugging me again." Carlisle glanced over at me like I belong in the psych ward.

"You really should do something about that….Maybe I could help?"

"I doubt that. I'm a freak of nature; I think this is just one of those things that won't go away. Besides, he—well, it—helps sometimes." I shrugged and swung my legs over, sitting up.

"So, where's Edward?" Emmett changed the subject and the TV channel. The voices in the background changed to some musical.

"He went…somewhere."

Edward was actually doing a favor for me and scouting out Valencia's place like we discussed the night before. I only hope he comes back with good news, and not the fact that she's some raving lunatic bent on torturing small children.

-X-X-X-X-X-

As the car sped towards the house of Valencia Martinez, I pondered a few things. Was it fate that I should land here, right under my mother's nose? Or was it chance? How did I get so lucky as to land in the backyard of people I could trust, people who had a secret as big as mine? Maybe I'm not as lucky as I think. Maybe the school is still manipulating me. (Scratch that, I _know_ they're still screwing with me.) Last question; do I really care?

A gray and blurry city flashed by me as these thoughts ran rampant in my head. I'm not sure if Edward heard any of them; he spent the entire car ride driving in silence, his eyes flashing towards me every now and again.

He was probably concerned about what happened at school today, though he hadn't brought it up yet. Today was my first day of school, and it sucked almost as bad as being in a dog cage. The hallways were incredibly small. Even though there were only a couple hundred students in the whole school, it still managed to feel claustrophobic. Luckily I didn't get lost, but I should've faked that I did anyway. Every time one of the teachers called on me to answer I sat there like and idiot with my head down, not knowing what they heck they were talking about. The only thing I was slightly good at was gym, and nobody fails that anyway.

No one really approached me. Maybe it was some instinct in the back of their mind, flashing a warning; _she's dangerous, stay away._ It didn't matter though; the less people asking questions the better.

I sighed and opened my eyes (when did I close them?) The city was flashing by at a slightly slower speed but the shades of gray and green still blended into an unrecognizable mass. I don't see why I have to go to school, and I don't see why the Cullens do it either. They've been through it so many times; it's not like after four years the whole curriculum is gonna change. Why don't they just lay low doing nothing for a couple of years? It's what I'd do.

"It's because Carlisle wants us to live as normal a life as possible." I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.

"I thought you couldn't read me," I muttered through gritted teeth as he took a right turn onto Spartan Avenue.

"I've been working on it." His chest started to shake slightly with a silent chuckle, but I cut him short.

"Well don't. In case you haven't noticed, my thoughts are already invaded on a daily basis! I need some personal space for god's sake! I never have any room to breathe; nothing about me is my own! I can't stand it!" I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down.

My voice still hung in the air when he spoke again. "I'm sorry, but it's not exactly something I can turn on and off." His grip on the steering wheel tightened at the same time his voice did.

"But you can only hear me when you try, so stop." I almost pleaded with him. My fists were clenched in my lap, the skin over my knuckles turning as white as Edward was. He sighed and his voice took on its usual smoothness again.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. You're mind is just so interesting; you're constantly on alert and you're taking in everything at one time, whether you know it or not There's something…not quite human about the way your thoughts work. But again, I'm sorry. You seem to have a lot of triggers, and I'm trying my best not to pull them. But, when a small touch—" He pulled his hand away from the steering wheel and skimmed the back of my hand with his slender fingers. I jerked my hand away automatically from the cold touch. "Can make your blood run cold, it's hard knowing what not to do."

I sighed. "It's not like it matters; I'm probably going to leave soon enough anyway." I laid my head against the window with a small clunk. From the corner of my eye I say him give sort of a sad smile.

After a few more minutes of deafening silence, the shiny silver Volvo rolled to a stop at a curb. "Her house is the third one up, with the light blue shutters."

I opened the door with a click and stepped out, closing it with a much louder slam. I kept my head down towards the cracked pavement as I took the necessary steps to reach the front door of one Valencia Martinez. Edward had told me everything he had found out about her earlier today, including the fact that she had lost a daughter about 16 years ago. She was a vet and a single mom with a daughter named Ella, who was 12.

The sky was a solid wall of gray, the clouds looking as if they'll burst any second, purging themselves of the water they've collected. I looked up towards the white house that was my mother's. Ugh, that was so hard to think. It did have light blue shutters, but it also had a white front door with beautifully shaped panes of glass creating a window to the inside.

I stared at the jagged pavement while I walked, unnecessarily avoiding the cracks. My feet dragged up the stairs, putting scuffs on the tips of my Converse. I slowly lifted my fist to the door, about to tap it with my knuckles. I took a deep breath. And another.

_Don't do this. You're not ready. _

_How do you know if I'm ready or not?_ I debated with the voice, outraged. _I've faced Erasers, and seen more terrible things than anybody can imagine. I think I can meet my mom and be_ _**normal**_ _for once._

_But that's just it. That's why you're not ready; you're not ready to be normal. Regular children don't play with the supernatural, or get go out on midnight flys and feel the wind caressing every feather, every curve. _

_Just let me have this __**one **__thing, this one victory! __**Stop**__ trying to talk me out of this! _

_Someone needs to. You. Are. Not.__Ready. _The voice paused, letting me think about everything it's said.

My shaking hand fell back down to my side. I turned away from the door and walked back down the cement steps. _No. I'm not. _

**Don't forget to review! :D **


	14. Teaser!

**I SWEAR THAT I AM WORKING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER. I have no excuse as to why I didn't write at all over the summer other than lazyness, but I swear that chapter 14 will be up SOON. I just need to get past this writers block, but school is back in and I know where I'm going with this. PLEASE just hang in there! Here's a little snippet of Ch14 to get you interested. ;) **

Fang was brooding in his room again, his signature scowl that the flock knew him by sitting on his lips. The sound of the TV was barely registering in his sensitive ears, instead of focusing on his surroundings he was entirely caught up in himself. The only thing on his mind was Max. _Max. _How could she have turned her back on the flock, her family, her _best friends_ for some strangers? There had to be something wrong with her; maybe they brainwashed her? They were working for the school; that _had _to be it. He tuned out all the noise from the other room and sighed. He couldn't take this, not knowing what was happening with Max, where she was, what she's doing.

Fang got up and paced back and forth across the floor, his feet thumping ever so quietly against the aged hardwood. The only sounds he could hear were his heavy breathing and his footsteps echoing off the bare walls. He stopped in the middle of the room and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples with shaking hands. He had to save Max. She might not like it at first, but he would be saving her. He didn't know what from, but there was definitely something funny about the people she was staying with, and Max must've not realized that, so he would save her. He had to.

**I have about 1K words completed, and it should be double that by the time the chapter is done. Sorry about making you wait so long! D: I LOVE YOU GUYS. **


	15. A note from the author

**Okay, so the truth is that I cannon continue this story. You all have been wonderful and I fully appreciate all of your support, but the truth is that I have grown as a writer and ultimately have grown out of this fic. I cannot even look at it without cringing for many reasons. The fact is, I can no longer stand the Twilight series and what it is. If someone wishes to take over this story, they can contact me via PM and I will send all documents over to you, and you can edit the story however you wish. It's been great, and thank you. **

**-Stormcat313, pen name to change soon.  
**


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